Enigma's Love
by Elizabeth Bathory
Summary: This is my tale of love, family, happiness, and what happens by the light of the moon. This is a tale about Remus, the woman he loves, and their life together - spanning from their years at school to the age of "The Boy that Lived."
1. The Light on the Dark Side of the Moon

**_Enigma's Love_**

_DISCLAIMER:  Only one character is original.  The characters from Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic Inc., Warner Bros., etc...  By no way is this work being used for profit._

_AUTHOR'S NOTES:  This is my first attempt at this category.  I have been highly inspired by recently reading the first three books of the series and have safely established that Remus Lupin is my favorite character.  I hope I don't get burned at the stake here.  Your reviews tell me if I continue the tale or not.  Special thanks to __enigma 58s, cageruler9697,frostibella, and Tami for their help with some chapters, providing me with inspiration and bounce off points when I needed it._

Life was seemingly perfect for those at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  From the outside, one would see the happiness that radiated from those who were known as the Marauders, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, and the girls who were usually found around this pack, Lily Evans and Domenica Knight, who everyone always called Dory.  Throughout the entire span of their education, these six were always found around each other, spawning relationships that were more than friendships.

            Dory was the enigma of the group, which leaves little to wonder why she had bonded to Remus Lupin.  She had known him since their first year and grew incredibly close to him extremely fast.  By the time the fifth year came around, a love had formed between them.  They trusted each other.  Remus admitted freely his secret to her, knowing that she would understand him.  When his friends had found out about his lycanthropy, he was so afraid that they would reject him because of it.  Dory was no stranger to such curses and would never even think of abandoning someone for such an infliction.  During their fourth year, just after the full moon, Remus decided to tell the girl he was falling in love with what he really was.  

            Dory had come down to the hospital wing to see Remus, at his request.  She walked silently into the ward and knocked on his door to his private room.  When she received no answer, she opened the door and found him sound asleep in his bed.  She could not believe that such a sweet, gentle, 14-year-old boy could have to suffer so much.  She sat down beside his bed and gently stroked his hair that was soaked from sweat, showing him that someone did love him.  Remus slowly awoke under her gentle touch, smiling weakly at the beautiful brunette that sat beside him.  Tears glistened in his eyes as he told her the horrid truth about himself, fearing her reaction.  Dory embraced him tightly, showing him love and warmth, letting him bask in the love she showed him.

            Since his admission, Remus and Dory were nearly inseparable.  They always could be found together, holding hands, cuddling, and supporting one another.  Dory was with him every month when he had to suffer the wolf.  She would walk down to the Shrieking Shack with him and Madame Pomfrey, giving him any last moments of comfort she could before he tried to get her out of the path of danger.  Dory was stubborn though.  After Madame Pomfrey had left them, and even before James, Sirius, and Peter had found a way to keep their friend company, Dory would place a soft kiss on his lips once they were alone and place a protection spell on herself.  Her family was familiar with lycanthropy, much to the dismay of many.  Even as a small child, she had been taught to use this spell when she came in contact with a werewolf on the full moon.  As she whispered the words, a violet light swirled around her and changed her black school robes to sheer violet ones that went over her satin gown.  In this manner, Dory could keep Remus company without fear of injury.  It hurt her so to watch the boy she loved go through such horrors but she would not leave him.  She sang to him softly to try to keep him calm throughout the night and when the sun rose, Dory was the one who wrapped the naked and shivering Remus in warm blankets and held him until Madame Pomfrey came to take him to his room in the hospital wing.

            This was a constant routine every month.  In the fifth year, Dory was joined by Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail in animagus form.  She knew they wanted to help but she was still protective of Remus, always making sure he was safe.  To Dory and Remus, despite how much they cared about their friends and liked being around them, they never really had time alone without Sirius or James busting Remus or planning another prank.  This all changed though in December of their seventh year.

Everyone had left for the holidays unfortunately on the night of the full moon.  Remus and Dory were the only some of the few people left at Hogwarts. They were the only two Gryffindors among one Hufflepuff, two Ravenclaws, and two Slytherins.  While everyone was leaving, Dory sat with Remus to keep him company.  He was already feeling the effects of the forthcoming moon and really couldn't get out of bed to say good-bye to everyone.  When Sirius, James, and Lily came back upstairs specifically to see Remus before they left, it made him both happy and sad at the same time.  Dory helped him to sit up so he could see his friends better and wish them all a happy vacation, holding back the emotions that threatened to burst from him.  Once he was alone with Dory again, Remus broke down in tears.  Dory pulled him into her so she could hug him and try to comfort him.  An exhausted Remus leaned his head against her shoulder, crying out to the girl he loved.  She pulled him closer to her and held him to try to calm him down.  His sobs racked his entire body.  All Dory could do was hold him and soothe him back to sleep, comforting him as the fever raged through his body and he coughed roughly in his sleep.

            For hours they sat like that, Remus sleeping in Dory's arms.  She stroked his hair reflexively as she wrapped the blankets around his shivering form.  Dory saw the sun sinking lower in the sky and she was just waiting for Madame Pomfrey to come and get him to take him to the Shrieking Shack.  Almost on cue, she knocked softly on the door and walked in, telling Dory it was time gently.  Dory knew this all too well as she gently roused Remus.  He slowly opened his eyes and immediately noticed Madame Pomfrey standing at the foot of his bed.  Dory got off of his bed first and then she and Madame Pomfrey eased Remus out and walked him down.  The walk down the tunnel was excruciating for Remus but he knew he had to.  Once inside the Shack, Madame Pomfrey knew Dory wasn't going to leave him.  She nodded to her and took her leave.  Remus crawled on to the broken down bed, which had been repaired one too many times, as violent coughs and shivering tormented him.  It was a freezing December night and Dory hated to undress him but if she didn't, all his clothes would be shredded in his transformation.  He sat up weakly and leaned against her while she took off his robe, pajamas, and underclothing.  The shivering got worse as he lay back down.

            "I'm so sorry, sweetheart." Dory whispered to him as she covered him with a thick blanket and kissed his sweating forehead.  Remus shivered under the blanket but he still reached out to take Dory's hand.

            "I love you…" he whispered hoarsely as a wave of pain swept over him.

            "I love you too.  I will be right here for you, Remus.  It will only be a few hours." Dory whispered soothingly, trying to offer any comfort she could before it happened. 

            Dory began to cast the protection spell as Remus began to transform.  She watched every horrid minute of it as she heard him scream in agony.  She watched her pale, skinny boyfriend transform into a bloodthirsty monster before her eyes.  She watched the wolf possess him and send him into mental chaos and a self destructive path.  Once the wolf started pacing around the shack, Dory approached him and started to stroke his head as she sang sweetly to him.  Under Dory's gentle touch, the wolf settled on to the floor and fell asleep.

            Remus slept restlessly until the sun rose, but at least he was calm as the wolf.  When the sun was rising, Dory quickly stopped her spell so she could be right next to Remus when he changed back.  She watched as the wolf vanished from him and was replaced by a pale, skinny, feverish, naked seventeen–year-old boy.  He was still unconscious as Dory had to levitate him onto the bed and covered him with a blanket.  He began to wake up shortly after he was placed on the bed.  This was one of the parts Remus truly hated.  His head felt like someone had run him over, he was shivering and burning up at the same time, and his stomach wasn't going to stay calm much longer.  Just Dory sat on the bed next to him; Remus coughed harshly and turned his head so he wouldn't throw up on Dory.

            "I'm sorry." He whispered as he started to tear up.

            "It's okay, sweetheart." Dory said as she rubbed his back.  "It's not your fault that you're sick.  Now, how about we get you dressed before Madame Pomfrey gets here?" 

            Remus nodded tiredly.  Dory knew he was just about to fall asleep so she had to work quickly.  She managed to find his clothes and put them back on him just as Madame Pomfrey was opening the trap door.  She asked Dory how he was, if there were any injuries.  She shook her head no and just told her that he had a headache and his stomach was upset, but nothing out of the ordinary, as they helped Remus up into the hospital wing.  They laid him down on his bed and covered him with several thick blankets as he fell fast asleep.  Dory pulled up a chair next to his bed so she could stay by his side and dry his tears from his nightmares.

            After a few hours, Remus awoke slightly and smiled when he saw Dory sitting with him.

            "Can you ask if I can go back to the dorms with you?  I can sleep better up there." He whispered tiredly.  Dory nodded and left to go hunt down Madame Pomfrey.  Within a few moments, she returned and placed a gentle kiss on Remus' lips to wake him.

            "She said yes, as long as you rest and eat something when you feel up to it." She told him gently.

            Remus was ecstatic despite his exhaustion.  He slowly got out of the bed and leaned on Dory to make it up back to the Gryffindor tower which they had to themselves.  They slowly walked through the door and up to the boys' dorm where Remus gratefully crawled into his bed.  Dory stretched out next to him and wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug, watching him sleep in her arms.  Around dinner time, Dory went down to the main hall to get some dinner for herself and Remus.  She crept back up into his bedroom and found Remus awake and waiting for her.  He was very hungry surprisingly and managed to eat all of the soup that Dory brought him.  Remus just loved that he was being taken care of by Dory.  They got to spend as much time together as they wanted, alone, even though he was sick.  After they finished dinner, Dory and Remus curled up under Remus' blanket with one of his books.  Remus began to get tired again after a little while and wanted to go back to sleep.  He snuggled deep within his blankets and began to drift off when he felt Dory move from the bed.  Remus sat upright, quickly and quite painfully, looking at her in fear.

            "Please, stay with me tonight." He pleaded with tears in his eyes.

            "I was going to, sweetheart.  I was just going to go back to my room so I could change." Dory responded soothingly as she kissed him on the lips and then exited his room.  Dory went across the staircase into her dorm to get changed for bed.  She grabbed an oversized t-shirt that she had "borrowed" from Remus and slipped it on and returned to Remus' room.  She quietly opened the door and peeked in to check if Remus was asleep yet.  She saw his pajama top slung over the foot of the bed and Remus lying on his side, waiting for her.  Dory walked in and shut the door behind her and headed over to Remus' bed.  She crawled under the blankets next to him and pulled the curtains closed around them.

            "Why did you take off your shirt?" she asked sweetly as she gave him a deep kiss.

            "I was hot." Remus replied simply as he returned the kiss.  "That looks like my shirt." He said with a smirk as he nuzzled closer to her.

            "And I think it looks better on me." Dory replied with a small laugh as she kissed him again.  This time her kiss was more passionate as she pressed herself against her love.

            Remus could feel her entire body through the thin shirt as she pressed against him, causing him to become aroused.  He wrapped his arms around her waist and began to lightly caress her leg, occasionally pushing up the shirt to touch her hip.  Dory could easily feel his arousal and she was encouraging it.  She wrapped her leg around his hip as she ran her hand over his chest and teasing him by slipping it beneath the waistband of his pajamas.  Remus took this as a very obvious sign and he moved his hand to caress her breast through the shirt.  Dory sat up, giving Remus the impression that he had done something wrong, but it was nothing of the sort.  She sat up so she could give him another deep kiss and remove the shirt she was wearing, bearing her body to him.  Remus' eyes went wide with desire and nervousness as she laid back down next to him.

            "I love you and I want to make love with you." She whispered as she pressed herself against him once more.  Remus gave into her completely as he kissed her again while caressing her now bared breasts.  As Remus touched her, Dory slipped her hand down his side to his waist and pushed down his pajamas and underwear.  He was a little embarrassed at first but forgot that sensation as passion took over and he kicked off his clothes.  He was now very aroused but he did not want his first time and hers to go so fast.  Remus gently started to caress Dory between her legs, through her panties.  Such sensations coursed through her body, she moved his other hand to her waist as a signal for him to remove the last barrier between them.  Remus shifted himself so he could kiss her breasts as he slipped her underclothing off.  Once they were both totally unclothed, he continued his caresses of her most sensitive area while she started the same on him.  As she touched him, it was becoming harder to hold back.  Remus gently nudged Dory on to her back and repositioned himself between her legs and entered her ever so gently so he didn't hurt her.  Dory gasped slightly but relished every second that they felt that they were not only connected physically but mentally as well.  Remus started to slowly move inside Dory.  He began thrusting against her, slowly but deeply, matching her movements against him.  As they moved as one, they felt the true love that existed between them.  Remus' slow but deep thrusts against Dory were pleasurable torture.  The feel of his skin, his warmth, the sensation of his heart next to hers, was an indescribable feeling.  Their passion peaked and Remus felt himself explode inside Dory as she embraced him with the force of her ecstasy, screaming out in exhaustive passion.  They relaxed in each other's embrace.  Dory guided Remus down to lie on her chest.  Remus relaxed in her embrace as he placed her head against her, listening to the sound of her heart.  He reached up to kiss her again.  Dory nuzzled her cheek against Remus' soft hair, whispering to him that she loved him.  Remus laid back down against her chest as he was drifting off into sleep, now thoroughly exhausted.  Remus and Dory snuggled up against each other and fell asleep in the comfort of love's embrace.

The next morning, Dory was awakened by the soft sunlight creeping through the curtains.  She gazed down at Remus, who was still sound asleep in her arms.  She knew he would probably sleep all day because he would be exhausted from his transformation the day before and then last night.  She gently rubbed his back as he coughed slightly in his sleep.  Part of her wanted to just spend the day like this but part of her also knew she had to get up.  She didn't want to wake Remus though when she got out of bed.  She felt him stir slightly when she shifted positions among the pillows.  Remus looked up at her sleepily as he gave her a good morning kiss.

"I'm gonna let you sleep as much as you want today." Dory whispered as she stroked his hair.  "I am just going to get something to eat and get dressed and then I'll be back."  Remus nodded sleepily as he moved onto the pillows and fell back to sleep.

Dory spent the rest of the day keeping herself occupied while he slept, staying in his room though just in case he needed anything.  Remus awoke sometime in the evening but was still quite tired but he felt much better.  The rest of the day was spent relaxing and ended again with them falling asleep next to each other.  

Vacation ended and everyone returned to Hogwarts and everything went back to the usual routine for the following months.  Pranks by the Marauders, the monthly transformation, classes, assignments that were dreaded…nothing that was out of the ordinary until May when trouble struck again.

Dory was particularly worried that month.  She had seen that a lunar eclipse was predicted and she knew that it would affect Remus hard.  Even early in the morning, Remus was already feeling the affects.  When Dory did not see him at breakfast she became worried.  She crept back up to the dorms between classes and found Remus lying in bed, sweating, racked with fever, and looking disoriented.  The only response he gave was when Dory sat next to his bed as tenderly stroked his hair.

"I'll be okay." Remus whispered.  "I'll stay here until I have to go down.  Don't worry about me please." He begged her.  Dory reluctantly conceded to him.  She knew he was only going to sleep through the day and he would not want her missing all her classes when he needed her to get the work for him.  Dory gave Remus a soft kiss on the lips and told him to have her called if he needed anything.  He tiredly agreed and drifted back to sleep as she left.

Over the next few hours, Dory was doing anything to keep her mind occupied.  After all her classes, she set herself up in the Great Hall to practice some of her spells to distract her mind, levitation, simple transfiguration…just playing around.  James and Sirius had come once or twice, giving her an update on Remus' condition, being particularly proud of themselves on how they could help him.  It alleviated her nerves a bit that Prongs and Padfoot were there for him as well.  

As the sky grew pink in the windows of the Great Hall, Dory knew it was time.  She was just about to leave to go be with Remus when all hell broke loose.  Dory was gathering her things when Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape cornered her.  These two damned Slytherins were going to cause havoc if she couldn't get to Remus.  

"You are not going anywhere tonight, Knight." Malfoy dictated to her as he mumbled a partial paralyzation spell, making her arms and legs immobile.

"What in the name of Merlin do you think you're doing?!" she screamed as she struggled to move her limbs.

"Paying the Marauders back for all the pranks they play on us.  Have a pleasant evening, Knight." Snape chided as he and Malfoy left her stuck in the chair she was sitting in.  Now Dory was in deep trouble.  The sky was growing dark and the moon was rising.  Her heart was screaming out for Remus but she could not with her voice.  She struggled, trying every spell and charm she knew to reverse the spell.  Dory even plain old physical struggling and nothing worked.  

"Damn them." She cursed to herself.  "They put a timer on it."  Dory was now stuck until it wore off, helpless to do anything.

She watched the moon rise into her sights and she started to cast the spell, in the hopes that it would help her poor Remus in any way.  The shadow of the sun stared to move across the moon as she began.

"Bella luna della notte.  Io sogno mantenere il mio amore sicuro degli orrori.  Il lupo non ha controllo ma l'uomo.  Prende la mia forza, mio amore.  Usa me per la tua battaglia contro la luna.  Te amo.  La bella luna, sente la mia chiama." She whispered as she kept her eyes focused on the moon, over and over until she saw it starting to set.

When the moon began to set, the spell was released and Dory took off running.  She flew through the hallways up to the Gryffindor tower.  She had to get to Remus and she had to do it quickly.  She needed a broom.  Dory flew up the boys' dormitory stairs into the Marauders room, not caring if she woke them.  She ran over to James' bed and vigorously shook him awake.

"James!  I need your broom now!" she screamed when she saw the mere slits of his eyes opening.

James was quite alarmed at being woken up in the early morning hours by a frantic Dory.  Coherent speech was near impossible but he managed to rasp out a "Why?" and a "Not now."

Dory was beyond scared and she acted only on instinct.  She whipped out her wand and ripped James out of his bed and magically slammed him into the wall.  "Potter, if you value your life at all you will stop with these damned questions and let me use your broom, NOW!"

James was dumbfounded and nodded silently and pointed to where he kept it.  Dory thanked him and swiftly grabbed his broom and went to the locked window.

"Alohamora!" Dory casted.  She heard the latch move and she shoved the window open with her foot, hopped on the broom and flew out.

Sirius had awoken during all the commotion and he found James sitting on the floor with a dazed look on his face.  "What the hell happened?" he asked.

"Dory…broom…moon…Remus…" James said rather incoherently as he stood up and looked out the window she just flew out of.

"Prongs, you should know better to mess with a woman on a mission.  Lily would have done the same thing for you AND to you if she had to." Sirius said bluntly.  "I just hope Moony hasn't done anything stupid with out her there all night." He continued as he crawled back into bed and went back to sleep.

Dory flew fast over the ground, searching for any sign of Remus.  She wasn't sure if he had made it to the Shrieking Shack or if he was still alive.  The sky was beginning to grow pink with the rising sun.  Time was growing short and she had to find him.  "Sangus dimonstra." She whispered fearfully, to see if there was any blood, his blood, on the grounds.  Tears sprang to her eyes as she saw a trail of blood leading from the Forbidden Forest to the Willow.  He had made it at least to his sanctuary.  Dory put the broom in a fast dive towards the entrance to the Shack, only wanting to get Remus.

When she got within reach of the ground, Dory jumped off James' broom and stopped it just outside the tree.  She crept in the trapdoor, searching desperately for Remus.  She found him quickly with both relief and fear.  There he lay, on the floor of that decrepitated building, unconscious and in a pool of his own blood and vomit.  She ran to his side and cradled his head in her lap, stroking his hair gently as tears streamed down her face, whispering to him how much she loved him.  He was covered in bruises and gashes.  He looked worse than she had ever seen him before and she had seen some of the most horrid ones.  All she could do now was just be there for him.  After a few moments, Dory felt him stir under her gentle touch and heard him moan in agony.  He was alive.  Tears streamed down her face as she kissed him and wrapped her cloak around his frail body, keeping him warm until Madame Pomfrey came down to get him.

A few hours later, poor Remus was bandaged up and tucked into bed and sound asleep.  Dory sat by his side in the darkened room, not wanting to leave him alone for a second.  At least it was Saturday so she had the opportunity to do so.  Prongs, Padfoot, and Lily came sometime in the afternoon to visit him.  Dory heard them come in and crept out into the waiting area before they woke Remus.

"Can we see him?" Lily whispered.

Dory shook her head.  "He's sleeping.  He had it rough last night." She said sadly.

"I can only imagine after what happened at dawn." James added.

"I want to apologize about that, Prongs." Dory said sheepishly.  "It was just that Snape and Malfoy played a prank on me and I couldn't get to Remus.  They put a partial paralyzing spell on me with a timer and I had to wait for it to wear off.  I needed to get to him fast and I overreacted.  I am so sorry James." 

"What happened?" Lily asked the group blindly.

"Dory came into our dorm before dawn this morning and asked to borrow Prongs' broom.  When he hesitated, she whipped out her wand and picked him out of his bed and slammed him into the wall.  He gave in and then she flew out the window.  Scared the hell out of Prongs and myself." Sirius explained.

"I think we may have to teach those damned Slytherins a lesson they won't forget." James suggested.  "All of us, I don't want to exclude Remus on this one." 

Dory smiled at how much Remus' friends cared about him.  "I know he will want to once he is up and around, which I hope is soon for his sake.  I know he doesn't want to have to stay in here too long." She said as she looked back into Remus' room.  "I'll tell him you all were here when he wakes up." She said as she bid them good bye and went back into her boyfriend's room.

Two days later, all of them were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, planning their revenge on two certain Slytherins.  Dory and Remus were on the couch, him wrapped in a blanket and resting on her lap.  James and Lily had taken the other couch and Sirus and Peter occupied the chairs.  Over the course of the day, they had decided to attack at Saturday's quidditch match versus Slytherin and let the entire school witness this.

James and Sirius snuck out early into the Slytherin dorms to hunt down Snape and Malfoy.  Prongs and Padfoot snuck in with the help of the Invisibility Cloak, armed with a large burlap sack, big enough for both of them.  While they slept, they bagged them and sent the bag down to the quidditch field for Phase Two later on.

Just prior to the game starting, while every one was in the stands, including Lily, Remus, and Peter, Phase Two took place.  James, Dory, and Sirius opened the bag from high in the air over the field to reveal a pajama clad Snape and Malfoy, who were seething mad.

"Wait, you two," Sirius piped up before they could speak.  "There's more.  Hit it!" he called into the Gryffindor stands.  Then Remus, Lily and Peter stood up with their wands drawn.  A spell later, Snape and Malfoy were standing in the middle of the quidditch field in only their underwear.  Laughter filled the stands as shock and horror swept over their faces.

"You won't get away with this!" Snape cried as he tried to cover himself.

"We just did." Dory exclaimed proudly from up high on her broom from the field.  "A lesson, Snape – never mess with us.  We always get even in the end.  Next time I won't be so kind.  You will be completely bared next time." She said with a laugh.

The tale draws to a close here…or does it?


	2. Hope in the Dark

**_Enigma's Love – Part 2 – Hope in the Dark_**

****

            One would think that life should be perfect for Dory and Remus after their graduation from Hogwarts but it was anything but.  Their love had to bring them through many a challenge.

            After graduation, both Remus and James came to a very important decision…that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with the women they loved.  For James, being with Lily for the rest of his life was not an issue.  No one stood in the way of them marrying and being happy for the rest of their days.  For Remus though, it was another story entirely.  There were laws against werewolves marrying for the fear existed that lycanthropy could be transmitted to others if they were to have children.

            Dory and Remus were so distraught by this.  Their lives were determined by something neither one could control.  Desperate and longing to be together forever, they pled their case to the Ministry.  At only 19, they stood in front of a panel of wizards to determine if they were allowed to be happy.  Dory was forced to prove that she would be able to control the wolf that lurked in his veins.  She was a member of an ancient wizarding family, descended from Morgana herself.  Dory had become an expert in ancient magic, including the spell that she used on Remus to calm him as the wolf.  They stood there silently with tears in their eyes as they waited for their fates to be determined.  Neither one was able to breathe as the Ministry passed their judgment – they could be married.  What the Ministry didn't tell them though, not wanting to destroy their obvious joy, was that they would be watched very carefully for the rest of their lives.  

            Dory and Remus had a very simple ceremony, only their closest friends were there with them.  They did not care about all the many trivial things that many couples consider when marrying, all they focused on was their love and their life together.  

            After the wedding, Dory was commissioned to teach at Hogwarts – Ancient Magic and Spells.  She was completely overjoyed at this.  She would be able to pass on her knowledge of the Ancients and still be able to find new things to help Remus.  She unfortunately had to swallow her pride and ask Severus Snape, the new potions master and former pain in the neck, to teach her how to make the wolfsbane potion for Remus, in addition to her spells.  Dory only wanted to make every full moon for him as easy as possible.

            Remus found a job at the Ministry for a while when Dory had to adjust from being Miss Domenica Knight, Hogwarts student to Professor Lupin, Mistress of Ancient Magic and Spells.  He found it quite amusing that she was teaching students who were only a few years younger than herself – fifth years and above.  Remus loved visiting her and watching their former professors stumbling over themselves to remember to address her as Domenica or Dory and not Miss Knight.

            Even after graduation, the Infamous Marauders still remained together.  Nearly every night, everyone would either be at James and Lily's or Remus and Dory's house.  These were their moments of release and being able to act like children again.  Dory and Lily always seemed to be the odd ones out when the boys were at play.  They would talk about them when they were out of ear shot.  When they were making fun of them it was always Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail.  But when it was kind…they always referred to them by their names.  It had been several months since they had married and already both women were sizing their husbands up on what kind of fathers they would make.  Surprisingly, neither Dory nor Lily doubted them.  They both knew deep down that, despite the child like exterior that would never seemingly grow up, both Remus and James would do anything for any children that they would have.  This was indeed a good thing because both women had a secret.

            One night, after one of these little get-togethers at James', Dory and Remus were quietly lying in bed when Dory decided to bring up one subject.

            "You know, Lily told me that she and James were going to be adding to their family this summer." Dory said casually as they laid on the pillows.

            Remus was overjoyed for his friend at hearing the news.  "That's wonderful!  Why didn't he tell me?" he asked in surprise.

            "Because he doesn't know yet." Dory added bluntly but then her mood changed and she spoke in a quieter tone.  "And they aren't the only ones…" she added.

            Remus seemed confused for a second, trying to figure out who else could be having a baby, but then the thought dawned on him and his eyes went wide as he looked at Dory.  "Do you mean…us…we…a baby?" he stammered, unable to even form a coherent sentence.

            Dory had a big smile on her face as she nodded to signal he was right.  "In August we will have 2 additions to our family.  I just was informed today." 

            Remus was beyond overjoyed as he kissed her lovingly.  He had always dreamed of being a father and wanted to give anything he could to his children.  They fell asleep in each other's arms with such peace and joy surrounding them, never wanting any of it to end.  

            The next morning, while Dory was eating breakfast before she had to go to work, an owl flew in their window and dropped a letter in Dory's lap and immediately flew out.  She picked up the letter and saw that it bore the seal of the Ministry and she became so nervous.  Her hands shook as she read it.  The letter reminded them of the legal codes against werewolves and having children.  The letter dictated that they would have to appear before the Ministry for a hearing to determine if their children were allowed to live.  Tears were streaming down her face by the time she had reached the bottom.  She remembered the law but she had done extensive research on the subject when she first even considered the thought of having a child.  There was only a slim chance of her babies having lycanthropy and she could handle it.  She ran back to hers and Remus' bedroom and woke her husband frantically.

            "Remus, they want to kill our children before they are born." She cried out as she handed him the letter.  

            Remus could clearly see that his wife was terribly upset as he pulled her close to him.  He read the letter and tears formed in his eyes at the thought that they may lose their children.  "We'll figure this out.  We will manage somehow." He said in a shaky voice, trying to be reassuring but not even sure himself.

            They had the hearing right away.  Remus and Dory had specifically requested that all of their friends be there for support.  If they were going to lose their twins, they were going to need shoulders to cry on.  

            "Remus and Domenica Lupin," the unknown Minister addresses them as they walked forward to stand in front of a similar panel that judged them to allow them to marry.  "It has come to our attention that you are expecting a child.  According to the Werewolf codes, those with lycanthropy should not have children due to the threat of the infliction being passed on to the child.  This hearing is being called to determine if the child should be disposed of."

            The shock was clearly audible when the Minister spoke.  James, Sirius and Lily felt so horrible that Remus and Dory had to go through this.  The last thing they wanted in the world was for their dearest friends to lose their children.

            "May I address the panel, sir?" Dory spoke up.  The Minister only nodded and signaled her to step forward.  Dory had this all planned in her mind but her stomach sank with fear when it came time to speak these words.  "I do not see the reason why we should be denied the right to be parents.  I have done extensive research before I even considered having a child.  The risk is quite small at best.  I have already proven that I can handle the consequences of such a terrible affliction.  Should our children have to suffer the same terrible disease, Remus and I would love them no matter what and my knowledge of the Ancient Spells, I can make sure that no harm comes to them or others around them.  Please, do not brush us off like this.  We already love our children and we haven't met them yet.  I know that Remus would never hurt them.  Please, all we ask is to have the same opportunity to have a family like everyone else." She pleaded with earnest.

            The Ministry council retired to an anteroom to discuss their decision.  Dory and Remus were visibly scared.  They sat down on a bench near the rest of their friends.  Remus wrapped his arms around her as Dory leaned against his chest.  Sirius, James, and Lily came up from the back so they could sit by them.

            "I think you two will win this one, especially after what Dory said." James said, trying to keep a positive outlook.  He could only imagine what he would do if he and Lily were faced with the same with their unborn child.  "You have to." He added.  "Our kids will be playing together this summer and we'll be making little marauders out of them." James continued, trying to keep the mood as light as possible, but he knew his friends' minds were elsewhere as Dory reflexively ran her hand over her stomach.  To him it seemed that she was trying to protect them or soothe her children to what may happen.

            An eternity passed before the panel reappeared.  Dory and Remus snapped to attention when they entered, hoping for the best.

            "We have made our decision after much consideration.  It has been determined that Remus and Domenica Lupin will be allowed to have their children." The Minister stated to much joy in the room.  "With the following condition…"  Silence suddenly swept over all those present as fear once again struck them.  "The condition is that Domenica Lupin is to be responsible for watching for signs of lycanthropy.  Should her children show signs of the affliction at any point, she is required to take any and all means necessary to make sure they do not harm others."

            Remus and Dory would have agreed to almost anything as long as it meant keeping their children.  They thanked the Ministry profusely as they were leaving with a huge sense of relief in their hearts.

            Time passed quickly for both Dory and Lily.  Their pregnancies went along without any major problems.  Dory was significantly more uncomfortable though with the fact she was carrying two.  Remus and James were definitely kept on their toes taking care of their wives' every need.  By the time July came around, both women were close to giving birth.  Harry James Potter arrived on July 31, 1980 and the Lupin twins, Cesare Antonio and Anastasia Elisabetta arrived on August 10 of the same year, blessedly free of lycanthropy.

            Life maintained some happiness among the two families for a time, despite the ever rising power of Voldemort, until October 31, 1981.  James and Lily died so tragically at the hands of the Dark Lord.  Only little Harry had survived.  Remus and Dory were devastated.  Their tears they could not hide when they heard the news and at the funeral.  They knew Sirius was Harry's godfather and supposed guardian, but the Ministry suspected Sirius in James and Lily's death.  Remus and Dory knew that this couldn't be further from the truth.  But this had a terrible effect on Harry's life.  He was sent to Lily's wretched sister and it broke the Lupins' hearts.  They would have happily raised Harry with Cesare and Anastasia but they were not given the option.

Life sadly went on without the Potters and Sirius.  Remus and Dory gave their children all they could, despite the fact that they could not let them see their best friend, Harry.  Cesare and Anastasia were happy babies, quiet and well behaved, and loved by everyone who met them.  They had never met with the feared stigmatism that could come up with their father being a werewolf.  The children also grew up knowing about their father and what they had to do on the full moon.  And then one day, two owls arrived with letters from Hogwarts…


	3. A Promise from the Heart

**_Enigma's Love – Part 3 – A Promise from the Heart_**

_AUTHOR'S NOTE:  Special thanks to __enigma 58s, cageruler9697, and Tami for their help with this chapter, providing me with inspiration and bounce off points when I needed it._

****

            The day the Lupin twins went to Hogwarts for the first time was one of the happiest in Remus and Dory's life.  Since Dory was one of the professors, she went ahead and left Remus to put their children on the train.  He had tears in his eyes as the train pulled away, remembering what he had to go through for the opportunity his children didn't have to fight for.  He knew they were safe now and Dory would be meeting them there.  Remus knew that he would be spending a lot more time at Hogwarts now.

            Dory waited anxiously in the Great Hall with the other professors.  She knew the students would be arriving soon and her children would be sorted.  The returning students filled into the Great Hall first and separated themselves into their houses, catching up with each other after the holiday.  And then McGonagall came in with the first years and Dory could not help but smile when she saw Cesare and Anastasia among them.

            Now it was time for the sorting ceremony.  Dory hoped that they would be put in Gryffindor.  She watched each child very carefully.  First was Hermione Granger – Gryffindor.  Then came her twins – Gryffindor.  Dory's smile was hidden when she heard the name Malfoy.  "That fool had children…Merlin help us all, another Slytherin." Dory thought to herself.  And then was a moment that changed the course of everything that was to come.  McGonagall called out Harry Potter.  Dory's attention was fixated on the eleven year old boy with messy jet black hair and unforgettable green eyes behind a pair of glasses.  It was James and Lily's son.  Tears started to fill Dory's eyes when he was placed in Gryffindor.  She had always felt so sorry for that poor boy and renewed her unspoken promise to Lily and James – she would watch over him for them.

            After the feast, Dory sat in her office going over her class lists for the new year, thinking about everything that had happened since she left Hogwarts as a student.  Her mind was becoming quite numb after going over all the papers when she heard her children come in.  Cesare and Anastasia flung themselves into her arms and hugged their mother happily.  They were obviously thrilled by being placed in Gryffindor and seeing their best friend again.  Cesare proudly announced that he and Harry were in the same room, which was also occupied by Ron Weasley, who he son had obviously befriended.  Anastasia had already bonded with Hermione, her dorm mate.  Dory was so happy for her children but hurried them out and back to bed so they didn't lose points on the first day for being out past curfew.

            Later on that evening, when most of the castle was asleep, Dory crept out of her room and out to the courtyard.  Her mind was filled with memories as she sat out among the stars.  James, Lily, Sirius, Remus…she wished with all her heart that they could be there with her.  A lone tear rolled down her husband, who was probably missing her as much as she was him.  She wanted to see her friends again with all her heart.  She leaned back against the fountain that she was sitting on and took out her wand, mumbling a spell she had learned her first year.  This spell allowed you to see whoever your heart desired in a small window that showed your memories like a movie.

            The pictures began to move…the first day at Hogwarts…James and Sirius playing quidditch…Dory and Lily conspiring against the guys…Remus being the shy but highly intelligent member of the group… the six of them goofing around in the courtyard…Sirius' birthday where he got drunk and got sick all over…graduation…James and Lily's wedding and then hers and Remus'…Harry and the twins…

            "You were always my strength and you shall soar in my heart forever.  I will watch Harry for you.  I won't let you down." She whispered to the images of James and Lily playing with Harry and the twins.  A few tears for her departed friends rolled down her cheeks.  Dory would have given herself completely into her tears if she wasn't distracted by a hand on her shoulder.

            "I was wondering when you would use that spell." 

            Dory whipped her head around and the images vanished into the night.  "Remus!" she screamed as she flung herself into her husband's arms.  Remus wrapped Dory in a warm hug as he kissed away her tears.  "He's here.  Harry has come to Hogwarts." She whispered as she fell into his embrace.

            Remus was not totally shocked but he was curious.  "How does he look?  Is he alright?" he asked in an obviously concerned tone.  He had wished just as much as Dory did that they could have been given Harry.  They would have more than happily raised him for their friends…their family.

            "He looks exactly like James did when he was that age.  The scar that Voldemort gave him has made that poor boy a celebrity.  Cesare and Anastasia have already told me that they have renewed their friendship.  They remembered him right away." Dory exclaimed.

            It was quite clear that Remus still missed his best friend.  Dory could see a few tears building her husband's eyes when she mentioned James.  "Maybe the twins should be told more?" Remus pondered as he leaned his head against Dory's.  "Harry deserves to know and it may be easier if it comes from them.  Those muggles probably poisoned his mind against them.  I just wish we could have done more." He said sadly, his heart still feeling the pain.

            "I know exactly what you mean.  We promised James and Lily and them to us that if anything would happen to either of us, the other would watch over their children.  It feels like we failed them.  We have to keep our eye on Harry…we owe them." Dory whispered sadly.

            For some time more, the sat in each others arms comforting each other once again.  Both Remus and Dory could not hide their tears, tears of love, of loss, of guilt.  They heard the clocks in the castle chime one and they knew that they should get to bed.  They crept quietly back into the castle and up to Dory's room, where they fell asleep in each other's loving embrace.  When they awoke in the morning, real life set in again.  Dory got ready for the first day of classes while Remus said a quick hello to Dumbledore and then ducked out through the tunnel that headed to Hogsmeade and apparated home.  Dory smiled slightly that he still knew the routes from that damned Marauders' Map.

          The day was like any other first day of classes.  Dory went through the usual routine with the beginning fifth years, telling them that Ancient magic was a complex study that required them to have a decent background in herbology, potions, and spell casting.  Of course fear swept over the room until Dory reassured them that it wasn't that difficult.  The day was nothing out of the ordinary until Cesare and Anastasia came to their mother's office.

            "What were you watching last night?" Anastasia asked bluntly to her mother's shock.

            "What were you doing up?" Dory returned.

            "We couldn't sleep and we saw the faint lights in the courtyard and then we saw Dad there too." Cesare added.

            Dory knew she couldn't avoid this much longer but she knew she couldn't do it alone.  She went to the fire place and yelled for Remus, who appeared quite quickly.  "We have to tell them." She said sadly.

            Remus took a deep breath and sat down on the couch, dreading when he would have to do this.  "Well, everyone knows that Harry Potter is a legend…" Remus started as his children nodded in agreement.  "He is only famous because he survived his parents' death when Voldemort took them."  Remus was beginning to get choked up as he had to relive all those memories.  "His parents were our best friends and we would have done anything for them, except we couldn't save them." He said as tears started to fill his eyes when he thought about his best friend.  

            "You now know more about Harry Potter than he knows about himself, and we need you two to be there for him as his friends when he needs you." Dory continued for her husband.  "Your father and I made a promise to his parents that we would watch over him and never let him get hurt.  We need you two to help us.  Can you do that?"

            "Of course we can…he's our friend." Cesare responded as he and Anastasia went back up to their rooms for the night, thinking about how they would help their friend.

            They didn't have to wait long before they had their opportunity to help Harry.  That Saturday morning, they were all down in the Great Hall having breakfast when the Malfoy brat came over.

            "Hey Potter, or shall I say our Excellency, where is your harem? Retired for the morning? Who'll help you drown your pancakes?" he mocked.  

            The twins saw Malfoy come over and they knew things could get ugly.  They had already seen how much he got to Harry.  Cesare and Anastasia took a quick scan of the room.  Hermione had her nose in a book at the end of the table and Ron was jabbering away with his brothers about quidditch and they saw Harry already start to seethe with anger.  Before Harry could speak up, Cesare stepped in.

            "Why don't you go have one of your flunkies go worship you somewhere else?  No one asked for your opinion so I would suggest you back off and find the rock you crawled out from and return to it." Cesare stated with venom in his voice as he and Anastasia walked over and stood by their friend.

            Malfoy was shocked that someone would say that to him and was just about to open his mouth for a retort when Anastasia spoke up

            "As you said, some wizarding families are just better than others and you have to be careful who you choose to be around." She said icily as she and her brother stood by their friend.  Malfoy was dumbfounded and backed off with his little flunkies to their little Slytherin hole.  Anastasia then turned back to Harry and sat down next to him, along with her.  "Are you alright?" she asked sweetly.

            Harry's anger had dissipated when Malfoy retreated.  His anger was replaced with something else that Anastasia and Cesare could see in his eyes, something they couldn't describe.  "That's the first time anyone has ever stood up for me." Harry exclaimed as what looked like tears were forming in his eyes.  

            The twins could not let him suffer like this so they suggested they go back to the common room, away from the Slytherin threat.  When they arrived, Harry crashed down on the couch and the twins pulled up two chairs beside him.

            "Why does everyone always make such a big deal about me?" Harry said miserably as he wiped his eyes.  "Everyone treats me different because I am 'the boy that lived,' everyone but you two.  You guys are nice to me and make me feel like I belong.  That's why I like having you as my friends."

            "We have known you longer than everyone else." Cesare spoke up as he moved his seat to the couch next to his friend.  "We are only 10 days younger than you and we used to play together when we were little from what our mother told us."

            Harry looked a bit confused at this, wanting to hear more.

            "Mom told us that we were inseparable when we were babies because our parents were best friends with yours." Anastasia finished for her brother.  "Mom also said we were lost when Dumbledore sent you to the Dursleys and not with our Mom and Dad."

            Harry was amazed at all this.  He was finding out stuff the Dursleys had never told him, or wanted to.  He had friends and people had loved him, something the Dursleys had never shown.  "Who's your Mom and Dad?" he asked with a hint of happiness coming into his voice.

            "Well our Mom is Professor Lupin; you know the one who teaches Ancient Magic and Spells to the fifth years and above." Cesare explained.

            "You wanna meet her?" Anastasia added excitedly.

            "Yes!" Harry screamed as he jumped off the couch and followed the twins out of the room down the hallway to their mother's room.  "Maybe she can fill more of this in for me."

            The twins dragged Harry down the hallways up to the door that was marked "Prof. D. Lupin – Ancient Magic and Spells."  They knocked quickly and the door opened on its own to reveal Dory and Remus on the couch playing Wizard's Chess, which Remus was undoubtedly winning.

            "Mom!  Dad!  Look who we brought!" Anastasia screamed as she presented Harry.

            Dory and Remus stood up from the couch and smiled when they saw Harry.  "It's nice to see you again, Harry." Dory stated, hiding the obvious excitement she wanted to express at seeing him.

            "Cesare and Anastasia said you knew my Mom and Dad." Harry stated excitedly.

            "They were our best friends." Remus replied.  "We would have done anything for them and we would still." He said a bit on the cryptic side.

            Harry was beyond curious about his parents since he knew nothing about them.  He wanted to ask so many questions but he couldn't find the words to ask them or if they were proper.  "How did you meet them?" he asked sheepishly.

            "We all were in the same class at Hogwarts.  All of us more or less ruled Gryffindor House." Dory said with a small laugh, wanting so much to tell him more.  "Would you like to see a picture of them?" she added.

            Harry practically jumped at the opportunity as Dory removed an old photo album from the shelf.  She opened the pages and found one that she had a double of.  It was a picture of James, Lily, Remus and herself at the shore after graduation from Hogwarts.

            "You can keep this one, Harry.  I know your Mom and Dad would want you to." She said as she handed him the picture, trying to keep from crying, trying to keep up a brave front for Harry as an example.  "You kids don't want to spend the day with us.  Go and have fun.  Probably two certain other Gryffindors may be hunting you down by down." She said with a smile as she referred to Hermione and Ron.  The children bid farewell to Dory and Remus and fled the room to probably find trouble somewhere.  Once the kids were out of sight, Dory crashed onto the couch next to Remus and finally let her tears fall.  She saw in his eyes as well the tell-tale signs of bursting emotions.  "I want so much to help that poor boy." She said sadly.  "He has so many things that he is entitled to know but we can't tell him yet.  I still wish we were allowed to be his guardians, rather than the Dursleys."

            Remus sighed in slight relief but only part of their burden was lifted.  "It's a good thing Harry doesn't know everything because it'd hurt him more than help him.  One thing especially…" he said looking at the calendar, noting that the full moon was in only two days.  "For now, all we can do is just be there for him…like James and Lily would have been."


	4. Winds of Change

**_Enigma's Love – Part 4 – Winds of Change_**

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            The first and second years at Hogwarts went very fast for Harry, Hermione, Ron, and the twins.  It seemingly flew by when they were happy.  Remus and Dory made it one of their personal projects to almost act like surrogate parents to him, doing their best to keep him out of trouble.  During the summer, the young quintet, especially Harry, had a habit of spending most of their time at the Lupins' house just outside London.  The Lupins were more than happy to have Harry practically live with them.  It kept him away from the wretched Dursleys.  Harry spent so much time at the Lupins' during the summer prior to their third year at Hogwarts; he had to be told about one secret.  One mid-July day, Harry happened to have been staying for a few days right when the full moon came.  Dory and Remus had managed to keep it hidden that night but in the morning it was a bit harder when Remus was particularly sick to his stomach.  Dory was then forced to tell him the secret once she cleared it with her very ill husband.  Dory was not surprised when Harry absorbed it so quickly.  He understood and was quite compassionate about it and promised that he wouldn't tell.  Dory knew then that he definitely had James' heart.

            Summer passed and soon it was time to return to Hogwarts.  But this year was different; Remus had been invited to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.  He had accepted it happily even though he hid his nervousness.  The term was to begin on September 1st, when everyone would be returning, and the full moon was on August 31st.  Dory could clearly see how upset Remus was.  He knew no matter what he had to be back at Hogwarts, ignoring whatever condition he found himself in the next day.  Dory had a solution which she hoped would make this as easy for him as possible.  For a few days before, she had started giving Remus the wolfsbane potion to build it up in his system, and on that night, after she had made sure the twins and Harry were ready for the following day, Dory locked herself in the bedroom with Remus to keep him as calm as possible.  It took all her strength to cast all the protection spells on herself and him and keep him asleep until he transformed back.  When the sun's rays broke through their window in the morning, Remus was thankfully free from injury and serious illness.  The only side effect was that he was exhausted, but this could be worked around.  Dory let Remus sleep for as long as she could before they had to leave.  He told her before going to bed that he would take the train there because he was too exhausted to go any other way, and at least then he could sleep for a bit.  Dory agreed with no argument on that front as she made sure the kids had everything before the train left at 11.  Just before 10, Dory had reluctantly woke Remus and more or less shoved him into the shower so he could get ready.  She could see that he was still half asleep and needed any shove that was necessary to get there on time.

            Shortly before 11, at King's Cross station, Remus, Harry and the twins boarded the Hogwarts' Express while Dory apparated to just outside Hogwarts.  Remus went to the last car, the Marauders' former car, and promptly fell asleep.  The twins and Harry knew he was feeling awful and wanted to let him rest but they couldn't avoid the car, being it was the only one not filled.  Harry, Cesare, Anastasia, Hermione, and Ron took their seats and tried to be as quiet as possible to not wake poor Remus.

            Remus awoke just before the train pulled into the station, almost as if he knew when it was coming up.  He remembered taking this trip when he was a student and now he was the professor.  "So this is how Dory must have felt." He mused to himself as he took the carriage up to the castle and then walked into the Great Hall.  He took his seat next to Dory and gave her a soft kiss.  "See, I did make it here." He stated with a small laugh as the banquet was beginning.  He had so much sheer fun that he had forgotten that the previous night was the moon.  At the end of the evening, when the students were heading to their Houses to retire, Remus followed Dory to their now joint office.  She could easily see that his exhaustion was setting in furiously again and helped him into bed once again before she lay down next to him and both fell asleep.

            Life was perfect at Hogwarts until the first full moon of the term.  The new surroundings had unfortunately shocked his system and the day prior to and a few after, Remus was recovering from a particularly harsh transformation.  Snape was selected to cover his classes and ravaged those poor children with work.  When Remus returned, he was infuriated when he heard what Snape had done and begged Dory to come with him to Dumbledore.

            "Headmaster, I do not want Snape covering my classes after the moon.  He was going against everything I had done with my students.  I respectfully request that you have someone else do it." Remus pleaded.

            "Do you have any suggestions, Remus?  I would gladly try to fill your request."

            "I can do it, Headmaster." Dory spoke up.  "Remus' classes and mine don't conflict and I am capable of covering the material.  And the students would still have Professor Lupin…just the other one."

            Dumbledore looked at the two Professors Lupin and gave them his blessing even though worry was written across his face for Dory.  "Are you sure you can handle this, Domenica?" he asked.

            "Of course I can.  I'll be exhausted but I can do it." She replied proudly.

            The next month, Dory had to prove herself.  On the day of the full moon, Remus was suffering from a fever, chills and a horrid cough from the moment he awoke.  He buried himself in the blankets as Dory sat with him as long as she could.  She whispered gently to him, telling him how much she loved him and she would check on him whenever she could during the day.  Just her comforting touch and tone made Remus feel a bit better as he drifted off to sleep.

            Dory had now the undaunting task of covering his classes as well as her own.  She was fortunate that they alternated.  The first class she had though was the third years' DADA class, which contained not only Cesare and Anastasia, but Harry, Hermione, and Ron as well.  The students were a bit taken back when a different professor stood in front of them but they were glad it wasn't Snape.  Dory introduced herself and stated that she would be filling in while Remus was ill.  A few Hufflepuffs asked if she was in any relation to their normal professor when they heard her last name.  Dory smiled and replied that he was her husband and moved on to begin her lecture.  She took her lecture directly from Remus' notes and added her own spin on it, explaining that dark magic corrupts the mind while white magic comes from the heart.  At the end of the class, while the students were filing out, Harry and the twins approached her as she was getting ready for her own class.

            "How's Dad doing?" Cesare asked, knowing full well what day it was.

            "He's terribly sick this month.  I don't want you three to bother him today.  He needs to rest." Dory warned.  "Now I hate to cut this short but I am doing double duty and I have to get to my own class now." She continued as she left for her own class.

            By the end of the day, Dory was almost worried sick about Remus.  She had only been able to check on him once during the day and he looked horrible.  When she went to check on him at lunchtime, he was soaked with sweat, flushed and running a high fever, and shivering violently.  She grabbed a basin, pitcher of warm water, and a wash cloth.  As Remus drifted in and out of sleep, she gently washed him down with the cloth, trying to make him a bit more comfortable.  In his semi-conscious state, he mumbled a thank you and an I love you to his wife as she tucked him back in and told him she would return later.  Later that afternoon, after she had finished her last class, she quickly made a stop to McGonagall's office to ask that she makes sure Cesare, Anastasia, and Harry remained in the tower tonight.  McGonagall knew exactly why because she remembered when Remus was a student and Pomfrey took him every full moon.  She agreed without question and wished Dory luck.  She then quickly ran to the Great Hall to grab something to eat and then back to her office.

            The room was quite dark when she got there, seeing Remus had probably closed the curtains sometime during the day.  She found her husband soundly sleeping on the bed, buried under the blankets up to his ears.  Dory took this opportunity to change into her pajamas since she knew she would go to bed once he transformed back.  She emerged from the bathroom a few moments later in a t-shirt and sleep shorts.  She walked over to the bed and gently awoke her husband.              "It's time, my love." She whispered as she kissed his parched lips.

            Remus dutifully got up from the bed and leaned on Dory to stand up to walk to the center of the room where there was nothing he could get hurt on.  Dory helped Remus to sit on the floor and then she sat in front of him to help him get undressed.  Once all Remus' clothes were removed, he began to shiver more fiercely.  The fire in the room was warm, so Dory repositioned herself so Remus could lie on her lap in front of the fire to warm himself.  As the moon began to rise, Dory started to cast the protection spells for herself and him as she watched his body contort painfully and transform into the bloodthirsty werewolf.  Once he was fully transformed as the wolf, the wolfsbane potion kicked in and Remus fell into a deep sleep in Dory's lap.

            Now all she had to do was wait until morning with a large gray werewolf sleeping in her lap.  Dory gently stroked his fur to provide him any peace she could until dawn.  At dawn, the wolf regressed and left Dory's frail husband in its wake.  He remained asleep as his human form reappeared in her lap.  Remus awoke only slightly, just enough for Dory to get him into bed and for her to crawl in next to him to catch a few hours rest before her classes.

            A few hours later, Dory reluctantly awoke.  She found poor Remus snuggled up next to her and sleeping on her shoulder.  She did not want to wake him in the least so she eased herself out from underneath him so she could get dressed.  When she came out of the bathroom, Dory had found that Remus rolled over on to his stomach and the blankets had slipped down to reveal his bare shoulders.  Dory silently pulled the blanket around him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.  Remus stirred lightly under the kiss and gave her a tired wave before Dory had to return to class.

            Around lunchtime, Dory was sitting alone in the Great Hall instead of going to check on Remus.  She was obviously tired and Dumbledore noticed right away.  The Headmaster walked up to the mistress of Ancient Magic and sat down beside her.

            "How is he?" Dumbledore asked gently.

            "He did fairly well this month." Dory replied in a weary voice.  "He is just exhausted and has a slight fever but no injuries.  I'll check with him tonight to see when he will feel up to coming back to his classes.  He'll probably want to come back as soon as he could."

            "He doesn't have to rush.  His health is more important." Dumbledore responded as he put a comforting hand on Dory's shoulder.  "Now, how are you doing?"

            "I'm tired." Dory replied simply.  "It's difficult to do all of this and this was when Remus had an easy month.  I don't know how I will cope if he has a difficult one." She said in an almost worried tone.

            "Don't worry.  We will all help you out if you need it.  I know Remus is grateful that you would do this for him but I am sure he wouldn't want you killed in the process." The Headmaster said with a small laugh to lighten the mood a bit.  "I think he would want his wife around for a little longer."

            Dory managed to smile at the Headmaster's comments and it seemed that was what she needed to at least finish out the day.  That and the thought of Remus kept her going.  By the end of the day, Dory was exhausted with teaching both her own and Remus' classes.  She quietly crept back up to their office and ungracefully flopped into one of the chairs by the bed.  Remus was only lightly dozing when she came in and he thought his wife had looked like a hippogriff had run over her.  He pushed himself up so he was leaning against the headboard so he could see her better.  He motioned for her to sit next to him as he opened his arms for her.  Dory got out of the chair and fell into Remus' embrace, relaxing as he rubbed her back.

            "I think you seem worse off than me." He said with a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood but was greeted with a deadly glare and vicious growl from Dory.  "And you have been spending too much time around me on full moons."

            "I'm glad to see you're feeling better.  Soon I can happily give your classes back to you."

            "I think I may be able to go back tomorrow afternoon as long as I can rest a bit through tonight and the morning."

            Remus felt Dory give a sigh of relief against him.  "Thank Merlin!  Any longer I think I would need a time-turner…" she mumbled.

            Remus heard this and felt guilty of what he was doing to the woman he adored more than anything.  "I'm sorry." He whispered in a shaky voice as if he was about to cry.

            Dory heard her husband's joking tone change and she whipped her head up to see tears forming in his eyes.  "No, Remus…I'm sorry." She whispered gently as she kissed him softly and caressed his cheek.  "I didn't mean to upset you, I was just venting.  I want to do this for you.  I am just going to have to adjust to this."  Dory straightened up and wrapped her arms around Remus, pulling him close to her and letting him rest his head on her shoulder.  "Please don't cry, my love.  Everything will be alright." She whispered soothingly as she felt small sobs coming from Remus.  The last she thing she wanted to do was to make him feel like this was his fault and she knew that's what she did.  

Neither one knew how long they sat there together but it was long enough for them both to fall asleep.  When Dory awoke the next morning, with her back spasming for sleeping in such an odd position, she saw the morning sun and started swearing at it under her breath.  She wrenched herself from Remus' sleeping arms and got ready for her last day doing double duty.  Before she left, she kissed Remus softly on his forehead and whispered that she would see him later that afternoon.

And just as planned, after lunch Remus was back at the head of his DADA classes, much to Dory's relief.  He was glad to see that she had done well with them.  Unlike the first time when Snape has given them obscene amounts of homework and the students did nothing but whine and complain, this time they were all smiles and had nothing but praise for his wife, giving Remus a huge sense of relief and letting him continue his classes as if he was never missing.

That evening after dinner, Remus and Dory sat alone in their office, seeking some time to themselves, when Cesare knocked on their door.  Remus got up and found their son looking very concerned about something.

"What's the matter?" he asked his son.

"It's Harry." Cesare started sadly.  "He got a letter from the Dursleys saying that he can't come back because they didn't want him anymore."

Dory immediately snapped to attention when she heard this and got up from the couch to see about more information.  "Where is Harry now?" she asked.

"He's in the Gryffindor common room with Anastasia, crying.  He's upset that he has no where to go now.  He thinks no one cares about him." Cesare replied softly, trying to fight back his own emotions about what his friend had to endure.

Dory and Remus could see that their son was very distraught over this. Dory pulled her 13-year old son in to her arms and wrapped him in a warm hug.  "Don't worry.  We'll take care of this." She whispered and then she turned her gaze to Remus.  "Go talk to Dumbledore.  Go see if what we have always wanted he will give into now." 

Remus knew exactly what she was talking about – becoming Harry's guardians.  Without another word, he grabbed his robes and headed down to the Headmaster's office.  When Remus left, Dory insisted that Cesare take her to Harry and Anastasia.  They walked with determination to the Gryffindor tower to make sure he was all right.  Cesare called out the password and the two walked in to find Harry crying his eyes out as Anastasia tried to comfort him.

"Harry?" Dory called softly as to not startle the poor boy as she sat on the couch.  Harry looked up slowly from where Anastasia was holding him and he looked at Dory with bloodshot eyes.  He had taken off his glasses while he was crying but he could still recognize his friends' mother.  She was the closest thing he had to a mother and he sort of accepted her as that.  Dory opened her arms and Harry fell into them to be wrapped in a gentle hug.  As Harry began sobbing again, mumbling how no one wanted him and no one cared about him, Dory comforted him as if he was her own son, stroking his hair and whispering that he was loved.  

After some time, Harry's tears had quieted and he managed to look up at Dory, feeling a little embarrassed that he had completely lost it in front of a professor.  "What am I going to do now?" he asked quietly as he wiped his eyes.

Dory could clearly see the pain and anguish in his eyes.  A thirteen year old should never have to go through the pain that this boy has had to.  "Don't worry, Harry.  Remus and I are trying to arrange something."

Then almost on cue, Remus made his way into the Gryffindor common room.  Dory looked up at him expectantly and she saw the joy and happiness etched on his face.  He walked over to the couch and sat down on the other side of Harry.  Harry turned to him nervously, trying to keep his emotions under control.

"Harry…after what just happened; Dory and I decided we should ask Dumbledore again about something that we asked after your parents died." Remus started to explain gently.  "What I am trying to say is that we have always wanted to have you with us.  We only felt that it was right since your parents were our best friends.  You don't have to worry about anything any more since Dumbledore finally consented and we are going to be your guardians.  You get to come live with us now, permanently."

Harry was beyond overjoyed.  He looked to Cesare and Anastasia, who had smiles as big as his at this new development, and then to their parents.  He happily hugged both of them freely, not caring about who was watching.  "Thank you, thank you, thank you…" he rattled off without stopping.  "This is all I ever wanted."  Harry would finally have his chance to be happy.  The boy had never known his parents and never knew what it was like to be loved and taken care of…and now, he would get that chance.


	5. Secrets in the Shadows

**_Enigma's Love – Part 5 – Secrets in the Shadows_**

****

_AUTHOR'S NOTE:  Special thanks LazarusBlackblade__ for his help with this chapter, providing me with inspiration and skeleton when I needed it.  The spell comes from The 21 Lessons of Merlin._

            The end of the third year was filled with joy.  Hermione received the highest grades out of the five with Anastasia following close behind.  Harry and Cesare were about even and Ron brought up the rear.  Leaving Hogwarts wasn't a sad occasion for Harry this time.  This year he was getting off with the Lupins and moving into his new home.

            During the summer, when Hermione and Ron weren't over at Remus and Dory's, the Lupins were taking Harry to all the magical events that he missed while at the Dursleys.  The first thing was the World Quidditch Cup which England had hosted for the first time since Merlin knows when.  Then it was to Romania to see the dragons, Italy for a little fun on the beaches and some rather interesting muggle history, and then finally at the end, a small trip to Salem, Massachusetts to show the kids some American wizarding practices.

            All this time, Dory and Remus had definitely taken notice of one thing – Harry and Anastasia getting closer, especially when they sat together on the train, just before Dory and Remus apparated as close as they could to beat the kids to Hogwarts.

            Fourth year classes were basically a continuation of the third year in preparation for more advanced classes in the fifth year.  Remus was again teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, which thrilled the students immensely since they thought he was the best they ever had.  Hogsmeade visits became more common and more often than not, the twins and Harry were asking Remus and Dory for money.  They knew full well that Cesare was stocking up on pranks and sugar with Ron.  Remus always thought that he was trying to resurrect the Marauders, even after Remus and Dory had taken the map away from them.  Anastasia and Hermione would always be getting a new book, or in Anastasia's case, another bit of magic to practice with.  Since her second year, it had been Tarot cards and she was doing quite well with them.  As for Harry, if it wasn't Quidditch or new pranks with Cesare and Ron, it was something for Anastasia.

            The fourth year ended with the same peace as the third, without any knowledge of what was to come.

            The fifth year began as a celebration.  Harry, Hermione, and Anastasia all decided to take Ancient Magic and Spells, Hermione and Anastasia for the challenge and interest…Harry for the same with the added bonus that his girlfriend was in the class.  Cesare and Ron would have rather had fun instead of spending long hours slaving over ancient texts for Professor Domenica Lupin.

            The celebration did not last long though when 15-year-olds have too much energy.

            One night after the castle was dark; Harry, Cesare and Ron decided that it would be fun to practice quidditch in the hallways of Hogwarts.  The three boys flew recklessly around the halls on their brooms, just trying to stay out of earshot of anyone who could deduct house points.  They were doing quite well until Ron's broom stalled and crashed into a trophy case, successfully knocking it over with a loud bang.  The three boys quickly got off their brooms to see if they could fix it before anyone showed up and saw it.  They quickly looked over the mess and realized that they were truly in trouble.  One thing caught Harry's attention, an old signet ring that had rolled out of a beaten-up trophy.  He reached down to pick it up to get a better look at it when the sound of footsteps approached.

            "What is going on here?!" McGonagall stated angrily as Harry quickly pocketed the ring.

            "Nothing, Professor…honest." Cesare piped up, trying to be as convincing as possible.

 "It was an accident, we swear." Ron added.

            "I doubt that highly." She replied scoldingly.  "For this, 50 points will be deducted from Gryffindor – EACH!" McGonagall reprimanded.  "And you will be serving detention with me tomorrow night.  Make sure you bring plenty of parchment and ink, for you will be writing quite a bit." She finished before making her exit.  The three boys then made their way quietly back up to the dorms, not wanting to incite any more professors.

            In the darkness of their room, Harry finally got to look at his discovery.  It was an old, gold ring with the Gryffindor lion on it.  It intrigued him so and he wanted to find out more about it as he slipped it on his finger, feeling a brief surge go through him.  He brushed it off as nothing and fell asleep.

            The next night, Ron, Harry, and Cesare were in McGonagall's office ready to face whatever she threw at them.  Each was given an enormous book on a famous witch or wizard and ordered to write two rolls of parchment on the one they received.  Ron and Cesare were audibly complaining as they began to write but Harry was surprisingly silent as he read about Godric Gryffindor.  Slowly he read about his house's namesake's bravery and courage, absorbing every word.  After a few pages, Harry came upon something very interesting – a picture of the ring he found the previous night.  The paragraph under the picture stated that Gryffindor was never found without this ring and had the ability to transfigure into a lion on occasion.  Now, his punishment became something so much more.

            The next evening, the young quintet sat in the Gryffindor common room discussing what Harry had found and examining the seemingly simple ring.

"Do you realize how lucky you were to find this?" Anastasia spoke up.  "That ring had to have been sitting in that trophy sing Godric was here."

Harry nodded as he was working on cleaning it up a bit, bringing back the luster he thought it should have.  "The book said Gryffindor could transfigure himself into a lion.  I wonder if this ring has anything to do with it."

"Probably," Hermione added as she took the ring from Harry's hand to examine it better.  "Did you feel anything when you out it on?  Like a power surge or something?"

Harry nodded again as he took the ring back.  "It wasn't very big though, it was very slight."

"That's enough for it to have some sort of power." Hermione replied.  "Now the question is what does it do."

"You said that Godric Gryffindor could change into a lion." Cesare stated.  "Maybe that ring allows you to do that without having to painfully transfigure yourself." He suggested.

"It's worth a shot to try, right?" Harry asked his friends, eager to see if it worked.

"Just don't eat us if you become a large, hungry cat." Ron added to much laughter in the room.

Harry then took that as his cue to try.  He stood up and walked to the center of the room, closing his eyes to brace himself as he whispered a spell to try to see if it worked.  "Morpheus Leo!"

A gold light suddenly flashed over the room and Harry was pushed down onto his hands and knees as light brown fur began to cover his body.  The other four watched in amazement as their friend grew fur and claws and a mane, eventually ending up as full grown lion with a human mind.  The other four didn't know what to do, if it was safe to approach him or not.  Anastasia was the first to bite the bullet and approach him.

"If you can still hear me Harry, you better not bite me or that will be the end of our relationship." Anastasia warned as she stuck out her hand to stroke the lion on the head through the black mane. The lion nuzzled against her under her gentle petting, almost as an acknowledgement that he heard her.

"What in Merlin's name do you think I would bite you?" Harry said from within the lion's body, making Anastasia jump back.

"You can still talk in there?!" Ron spoke up.

"Yes and I don't know how, so don't ask." Harry replied. "But this could be very cool." He continued before he murmured a quick "Morpheus Humanus" and returned to his human form.  The five of them then made a pact that night, not to reveal what that ring could do, secretly calling themselves the Marauders Reborn.

For the next three nights, Harry would sneak out in lion form and wonder the castle grounds exploring under the cloak of night and without fear of injury.  It wasn't long before rumors of a lion started buzzing around the student body and among some of the professors and people got curious to see if they were true.  One night, Harry was quietly walking around the grounds when he heard several voices.  He whipped his head around to see several Slytherins, including that stupid git, Malfoy, coming straight towards him.  He took off on a run since he could move faster on four legs rather than two but they followed.  He tried to lose them but was rather unsuccessful.  As he ran he was desperately wishing that he had his Invisibility Cloak at this very moment.  The Slytherins managed to chase him right into the castle, where Harry's blood froze in fear.  In the precious few seconds he had from being able to run faster than the Slytherins, he tried to think of where he could go to escape or at least change back.  Then his ears picked up on the voices again and he took off, running blindly through the corridors.  Harry ran so fast that he never noticed the throw rug in the middle of the floor and ended up slipping on it and crashing into the wall.  But instead of hitting the wall, he went through it.

Harry stood up quickly and transformed back into human form and looked around where he had gotten himself.  He had no idea where he was but all he knew is this place didn't feel right.  He stood in the middle of a darkened, ominous chamber that was lit only by a few torches.  It was bitterly cold and the hallways that spurned off the chamber seemed to have their own wind coming up from them.  He quickly decided that he did not want to be there at that moment and walked back to the wall and felt around for the door and left as suddenly as he came in.

Harry made no stops as he ran back to the Gryffindor Tower to tell everyone what he had found.  The girls had already gone to sleep but there was no way he was not going to wake Ron and Cesare to tell them.  He ran up the stairs to the boys' dorm and made his entrance very well known.  The sound of Harry's rather obtrusive had Ron and Cesare sitting straight up in bed, ready to pound their friend for waking them.

"I found a secret door in one of the walls." Harry spat out before his friends could get to him to assault him for waking him.  "I want to show you." He continued as he walked back to the door, this time with his Invisibility Cloak, watching his friends reluctantly crawl out of bed and slip on their sneakers and robes over their sleep clothes.  

They exited the dorms under the cover of Harry's Invisibility Cloak back down to the door Harry had just discovered.  When they gazed upon the intricate wall paper, the door was well hidden until Cesare spotted the writing above it.

"The prophecy has begun…" Cesare translated aloud from the Ancient writing it was written in and then looking to Harry and Ron in confusion.  "What prophecy?"

Neither Ron nor Harry could answer and Cesare wanted to find out more.  He walked closer to the hidden door with his hand extended to feel for it.  As he stepped closer to it, a strong wind that was riddled with the forces of darkness came up from the depths of the door and took hold of Cesare and sucked him into it.  Harry and Ron desperately tried to pull him back, yanking on his arms hard but only resulting in making him scream in pain, and then they lost their grip and he slipped behind it.

Once he was inside the chamber, the wind let go.  Cesare stood up and tried to find the door that he just went through, only to find solid wall.  "How the bloody hell do you get out of here?  There's no door!" he screamed back through the wall as he frantically felt for any sign of a door.

"Don't know…maybe a spell.  I'll get Anastasia and Hermione.  They pay more attention in your mother's class than I do." Harry called back before he ran off back to the dorms.  He quickly made his way through the portrait and up to the girls' dorms.  He knocked frantically on the door until it opened and he was greeted by the face of his girlfriend, Anastasia.

"What is it Harry?" she asked tiredly.

"Your brother is sort of stuck in a secret door that I found and we need you and Hermione to help get him out because we think it needs an ancient spell."

Anastasia understood as she walked over to wake Hermione, but she did not truly know if she could do anything about it since her knowledge was still somewhat limited. 

They walked with Harry to where Ron was waiting, talking to Cesare through the wall.  Anastasia saw the writing over the door, just like her brother did, and just as much confusion as he.  

"Cesare, what did you get yourself into this time?" she called out mockingly at her brother's "misfortune."

"Just get me out of here." He called back angrily.  "This place is not exactly welcoming and I am not getting good vibes from being in here."

Anastasia and Hermione stepped back and took out their wands and aimed them at the portal, trying any of the simple ancient spells they knew to see if would open.  Their wands activated and produced a wide range of colored sparks with each spell but nothing recreated the door.  Both girls became increasingly frustrated and slightly afraid when they looked to Harry.

"We're going to have to get my parents." Anastasia said despondently as she put her wand away in the belt of her robe.

A sinking feeling settled in the pit of Harry's stomach.  The last thing he wanted to have to do was to go tell Remus and Dory that he had locked their son inside the walls of Hogwarts but he knew Anastasia was not going to let him get off so easily as she was dragging him down to her parents' office with Ron and Hermione following close behind.

They approached the door in the Professors' wing and knocked quickly.  Harry was wringing his hands quite nervously, fearing their reaction from waking them up in the middle of the night and for telling them about Cesare.  Within a few moments, a very sleepy-looking Remus opened the door.  He leaned against the door frame in a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, wondering why the four nervous looking Gryffindors were here at two in the morning.

"Is there something I can help you four with?" he asked wearily.  "Especially since I believe curfew was quite a few hours ago."

Anastasia subsequently pushed Harry forward.  "Dad, Harry has something to tell you."

Remus opened the door and led the young quartet into the dark living room.  He lit a few lamps to illuminate the "confessional" and to make it look a little less frightening and then sat on the couch opposite of the kids.  "Now what do you have to tell me." He said in a tired voice.

Harry desperately was searching for the right words to phrase this so it wouldn't sound so badly but in reality he was just stalling.  Anastasia gave him a quick jab in the ribs and he thought, 'Just say it fast…maybe he'll miss most of it.'  He then took a deep breath and began to speak.

"I found a ring that belonged to Gryffindor and I can change into a lion with it and someone saw me so I ran and I found a secret door and then I told Ron and Cesare about it and then the door sucked Cesare in and now he's stuck inside and we can't get him out." He spat out as fast as he possibly could without stopping, like when you pull off a bandage.

Remus looked more stunned than angry, which was kind of a relief for Harry.  What made Harry nervous though was that he didn't say anything.  Remus got up off the couch and went into the bedroom and closed the door behind him which left several minutes of agonizing silence, until a very loud "**_WHAT!" came from the bedroom.  Remus then reemerged with Dory following behind him, tying her robe around her._**

"Harry, show me this door – right now." Dory demanded.

Harry once again made the trip to this now damned door.  He silently pointed it out and then stepped back to hide among Ron, Hermione, and Anastasia.  Dory examined the door carefully with her wand and then noticed the writing over the top.

"Bloody Hell!" she swore under her breath.  "I thought this was a rumor or superstition.  It wasn't supposed to exist."

Remus was wondering what was going through his wife's head at that moment.  "What is it?"

"We have to see Dumbledore right away." She replied flatly, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.  "Cesare, just stay calm.  We will get you out of there." She called through the wall but received no answer.  They had to believe inside that he was alright.

As dawn was fast approaching, the kids returned to bed to sleep for what few hours they could before they had classes and Remus and Dory headed to Dumbledore's office after quickly dressing and recomposing themselves for what could lie ahead

Dumbledore was a bit surprised to see two of his professors so early in the morning, but welcomed them warmly.  "What do I owe the pleasure?" he asked as he sipped his tea.

"There were rumors of an ancient prophecy when we were students here.  We are wondering if you know anything about them." Remus started.

"Nothing is coming to mind.  Why do you ask?"

"A secret door has been found by Harry Potter and now Cesare is stuck in it.  We don't know how to counteract it." Dory said nervously.

"The only comfort I can offer you is that the truth may lie amongst the many volumes in the library.  I believe that the answer you seek may still rest in the unread volumes of Hogwarts' History." Dumbledore responded in an almost sad tone of voice, his sympathies going out to two of his former students.  "As always, I will offer my assistance in any way that you need it."

Remus and Dory looked directly at each others' eyes and they knew they would not see the light of day until they found the answer to this riddle.  He embraced her tightly as he turned his gaze back towards the Headmaster.  "I believe someone will have to cover our classes for a few days, we have a bit of research to do." He whispered, hiding the fear in his voice from what they may find.

Within a few short hours of the meeting with Dumbledore, their mission had begun.  Dumbledore said he would cover Dory's classes while Snape, much to Remus' dismay, covered his.  He secretly promised that he would make it up to his students somehow.  Remus and Dory had sentenced themselves to the dark corners of the library, searching through every page of Hogwarts History to find this damned prophecy.

For three straight days, they ran over many lines of text without even a hint of finding anything.  The two of them looked so haggard and worn down that people were beginning to worry about them.  Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Anastasia came in at least once a day to check on them but they were hardly noticed.  They were worried like everyone else and in shock.  It wasn't often you saw two professors looking like students studying for the N.E.W.T.s.

There were piles of books stacked up around them, almost hiding them.  Rolls of parchment were laid out with enchanted quills doing the writing so Dory and Remus didn't have to.  Neither one of them was in their robes, but in muggle jeans and t-shirts.  Dory had pulled her dark brown hair back into a ponytail to keep it from distracting her as she succumbed to her deep, worrisome thoughts.  On occasion, you could see one or both of them catching a small nap on the table since neither had really slept since it happened.  The children always felt that they shouldn't ask how they were doing just by watching them.  They saw the worried, tired eyes and pale skin with a ghostly pallor and the signs of obvious frustration and knew anything that distracted them would not be taken well.

On the evening of the fourth night, there were a few signs that were turn for the better.  For some reason, Remus took out the Marauders' map, if only to talk to Cesare and convey their love.  He ran his fingers over the small script that was barely visible on the outside of the walls of the drawing where it spelt out, "_Cesare Lupin."  Then he looked up to the top where a message waited for him.  His eyes widened with anticipation because there was only one person who would communicate with him like this – Sirius Black.  He knew full well that he had been released from Azkaban over a year ago but could not tell where he was for some reason.  Dory was just coming out again with one of the oldest books in Hogwarts, the Original Charter, when she saw Remus' expression._

"Did you find it?" she asked hopefully.

"No, but someone found us." Remus stated.  "Listen to this…"

"_Mister Padfoot wishes to convey to his friends, Mister Moony and Mistress Enigma, that should his help and friendship be required or desired, all they need to so is send him an owl and he will be there forthwith."_

"Call him." Dory said as she opened the book.

Remus grabbed a quill and parchment and quickly scribbled out a note to Sirius.  

"_Padfoot,_

_            Your presence is respectfully requested at Hogwarts as soon as you can.  We need you desperately.  Please help us._

_                                                            Moony"_

He quickly summoned an owl from the Owlery and sent it on its way and then turned back to Dory who had buried herself in the transcript, searching for even the last glimmer of hope.

Cesare was becoming increasingly impatient as he was stuck in that hole.  He had lost track on how long he had been there and the only comforting feeling he had was a wisp of his parents' voices and sending their love.  As he was just about to drift off to sleep once again, he was jarred out of his drowsiness by an evil force.  His eyes widened as he fell back against the wall when a shadowy but solid figure came from the darkness of the tunnels and flew by him and out of the chamber.  He was petrified with fear, so much so the Cesare was transmitting it to his sister with one word on his mind – **_Voldemort._**

Anastasia had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion, a common place occurrence since Cesare had gotten locked inside the wall.  Her dreams did not allow her to rest, her nightmares keeping her awake with the throws of terror.  This night was no different but the dreams were.  

Deep in the abyss of the nighttime world, Anastasia's mind was in overdrive.  In her dreams, she felt terror as she watched a dark, ominous figure come out of the shadows and escape into the school.

Anastasia bolted upright in bed, gasping for breath out of fear of what she had just seen.  She saw what Cesare had seen and shared his fear.  **_Voldemort had come through the door and went into the school._**

Harry had been sleeping just as badly as Anastasia since Cesare had gotten trapped.  Guilt constantly plagued him.  His dreams kept telling him that it was his fault.  He tossed and turned every night but felt even more horrible about waking anyone else up to calm his fears.  This night though, he was ripped from his sleep by a fierce burning of his scar.  The pain ripped through his head, bringing tears to his eyes.  Now he had to tell someone.  He carefully slipped out from under his blankets and crept quietly out of the room.  When he opened the door, he found he was not the only one who could not sleep.  Anastasia stood across from him in her door way.

"I saw what Cesare saw." She said abstractly.

"My scar hurts." Harry responded as he walked closer to her.

"We have to tell my parents and Dumbledore."

Harry silently agreed and took her hand as the snuck out of the Tower and headed down to the library.

**_"I found it!!!!" Dory cried out excitedly, startling Remus so badly he practically fell out of the chair.  Remus got out of the chair and walked over to stand behind her so he could read it over her shoulder.  Deep within the original charter, between the lines of the text, written in Dragon's Blood ink, laid all the secrets and answered._**

"The prophecy was formed by Salazar Slytherin." Dory explained as she internally translated the text.  "He had created a door that no one else knew about so he could bring in all of his dark magic without being detected.  He was able to slip in and out of Hogwarts without being noticed with a secret key.  He made the key out of something that no one would ever suspect, Gryffindor's Ring.  It saw it as a corruption of everything that was good and pure and no one would ever be able to figure it out.  At the end of his life he hid it, as well as the door and placed this curse on it – 'This is the key to open the door for all evil.  When one pure of heart takes this ring and uses it, the door will open and never close.  The door will open and allow those of Darkness to come into Hogwarts and begin its destruction.'" 

Dory looked up with terror in her eyes.  Harry had the ring and used it.  A sick feeling swept over her as those words went through her mind again and again.  Desperation now guided her.  According to the Charter, there was no way to stop it, but there had to be something, anything that could work, Cesare's and Harry's lives depended on it as did all of Hogwarts.  She was just about to throw herself back into the stacks when Harry and Anastasia came running into the library.  It wasn't very hard for both Remus and Dory to notice how visibly shaken the two of them were.  "What happened?" she asked concerned.

"Voldemort is in the Castle!" Anastasia blurted out without warning.  "Cesare saw him come through the door and I saw it in my dream and Harry woke up with his scar hurting."

Dory went numb with fear as the book dropped out of her hand to the floor with a loud crash.  Remus quickly picked it up and placed it back on the table, trying to sort out what heard.  "We don't have much time." He stated flatly.   "Dumbledore has to know."

"I'll tell him" a voice replied from the door.

Dory and Remus' heads whipped around to a very welcome site – Sirius Black.

"How did you get here so fast?  We just owled you." Dory rambled as she gave him a quick hug.

"Your husband must be going blind.  If he had looked a bit more carefully at the map, he would have seen me hanging out in Hogsmeade." Sirius replied as he gave Remus a playful punch in the arm and then immediately hugged one of his best friends.

"We knew you didn't have anything to do with James and Lily's deaths.  We knew it was Peter all along." Remus responded as he hugged Sirius back.

"Now, enough of these pleasantries," Sirius continued, "I believe our help is required for once.  Got any ideas on how to stop this, Enigma?" he said as he looked to a frazzled Dory.  "I'm betting that you already have this all hacked out."

"Not exactly." She replied dejectedly.  "All I know that in most cases, when you destroy the key, you also destroy the door.  That's the only thing we can try.  But now…"  She paused as tears welled in her eyes.  "We have to get Voldemort back in before we close it or else everything we know is destroyed."

Silence swept over the room, only the sound of breathing was heard when Dory said that name.  No one even noticed Dumbledore coming into the room.  

"What do you need?" Sirius spoke first.

Dory swept her eyes around the room, looking towards Remus, then Sirius and Dumbledore, and then finally Harry and Anastasia.  "I need the ring that Harry found," she said as she held out her hand to Harry for him to put the ring in it.  "And I need you to get Wormtail.  He has to get Voldemort back into that door.  I hate to do this, even to him, but he has to be a decoy." She stated to Sirius.  "Once he is back in the portal, we need a magic barrier to keep him in while Harry and I go into it to get Cesare and do what ever we have to in order to stop that bastard, from the inside." Dory finished with fear lacing her voice.  She knew deep down that once they closed that door and destroyed the ring, they may never get back out.

Time was of the essence as their plans went into action.  All the students were locked down in their dorms, with the exception of Anastasia, Harry, Hermione, and Ron.  Those four were temporarily moved into the Lupins' quarters so Dory could teach them what they needed to know before they were to face the Dark Lord.  Sirius was already off hunting down Peter, no matter how much he did not want to see the little rat again after what he did to James and Lily and therefore Harry.

Sirius did not have to look far.  He found the traitor drowning himself in butterbeer at the Leaky Cauldron.  He did not hesitate for a moment when he approached him.  "You're coming with me, Wormtail." He stated firmly as he stood over his smaller friend.  

"What makes you think I'm going with you?" Peter retorted coldly, never looking up from his drink.

"Because you betrayed your friends for your so called master and now you owe their son.  You will do this Peter or else I will make sure Crookshanks does eat you next time." Sirius warned forcefully as he leaned over the table and focused his gaze eye to eye with Peter.

"I owe Harry nothing." He replied simply, backing up from the far larger former friend.

"You took his parents away and made his life the worst it could possibly be.  If it wasn't for Moony and Dory, his life would still be a living Hell." Sirius warned, getting ever angrier as he spoke.  "Now you don't think your goddamn master would want one of HIS minions in debt to Harry Potter, now do you?" he continued, hoping that this would be the final nail.

Peter reluctantly got up from his chair to face Sirius.  "What do you need me to do?"

"That you will find out from Dory." Sirius replied as he dragged Peter back to Hogwarts.

By the time Sirius and Peter had returned to Hogwarts, the battle plans were in place.  Dory and Harry had already changed into their robes.  Dory had gone into the violet dress that she wore when she stayed with Remus on the full moon and the black Gryffindor robes she still had from her school days.  She was surprised that they were still in such good shape.  Over all of it, she wrapped a black hooded cape.  Harry had also changed into his black Gryffindor robes in preparation for battle.  Sirius practically threw Peter up the stairs to Remus and Dory's office and shoved him to the floor once they were in the door, giving Harry and Anastasia quite a start.

"Hello Wormtail." Dory stated coldly as she stood over the pathetic mass on her floor.  "Did you have to hex him, Padfoot, or did he come on his own?"

"No hexing, just a few threats." Sirius replied as he shoved Peter with his foot.

Dory nodded to Sirius to show that she understood.  "Now, this is what you have to do.  Voldemort is loose in this castle and we need you to get him back in the door he came from." She stated simply.

"And if I refuse?"

"Your life means nothing to us as it is and we will just send you to Azkaban for the rest of your days.  Let the dementors deal with you." Dory replied as she gave Peter one of the most vicious glares that Remus or Sirius had ever seen.

Peter had no way out of this one, no matter how hard he tried.  He silently nodded and was promptly picked up by Sirius and then he and Remus led him to the door.

"Now, you know what you have to do.  Not only does Hogwarts depend on this but the life of my son does as well." Remus warned.  "You screw up, and I will not be beyond doing things to you that would make even the worst Death Eater flinch."

Little did Peter know, but he was not alone in that hallway.  Remus and Sirius disappeared into the darkened crevices of the hallways that the door was located and joined Dory, Dumbledore, Harry, Anastasia, Ron and Hermione, all ready for action.  The portal opened as Peter moved closer to it and Cesare saw this as well from the depths of the chamber, but unable to leave it.  He took his wand out from the waistband of his sweat pants and readied himself for anything that was to come.

"M-Master…I need to speak with you…" Wormtail called out fearfully.

Voldemort had sensed Peter's presence from the second he entered the castle and knew he was in the portal.  From the shadows within and outside the chamber, everyone saw his shadow come from many different directions in Hogwarts and reassemble to one solid being right in front of the door.

"Be careful, Cesare.  He's back." Anastasia sent her brother through their telepathic twin link.

"Thanks for the warning.  I'm ready for him." Cesare returned.

"What do you want, Wormtail?  This had better be important." Voldemort hissed as he walked in the door.

**"NOW!" Dory screamed.**

Everyone but Dory and Harry aimed their wands at the damned door, crossing the blue lightening coming from them into one powerful blast as they formed a semi-circular border to prevent Voldemort from coming back out.  At the same moment, Cesare saw the Dark Lord enter and tried to perform the same spell that everyone else was by himself.

"Use our link, Cesare.  Use all our power to keep him busy until Mom and Harry get in there." Anastasia called to her brother.

"That will help unbelievably." He responded a bit breathlessly, out of fear.

Voldemort saw the blue lights coming from the wands and immediately took notice of Dumbledore.  Rage burned inside of him as he turned to Peter.  "You have betrayed me." He hissed as he moved in on him.  "For that you will pay dearly…" Voldemort growled as a flash of bright shot from the end of his wand.  The next instant, Peter lay dead on the ground, slowly vanishing into dust.  "I demand loyalty Wormtail." He hissed as the Dark Mark blazoned across the sky above Hogwarts.

Harry and Dory then broke into the circle, walking towards the door.  Before walking through, Dory stopped and turned to Remus, embracing him tightly as she kissed him.  "I love you always." She whispered as she pressed her cheek against his.

"Come back to me." He whispered in her ear as tears welled in his eyes.

While her parents were exchanging last moments of love, Anastasia called out to Harry.  "Be careful.  I don't want to lose you."

"I will." Harry said simply as Dory walked back up behind him.

Dory and Harry then stepped forward towards the door and stepped through it; there was no turning back now.  The portal was still open when Dory took out the ring and handed it to Harry.  They both looked back once more, hopefully not for the last time, and then it was time.

"Harry, levitate the ring." Dory instructed as she took out her wand and began the spell.  "Faint light gleam over hearth.  Ghosts of Arden pass through and show your distant forms.  Misty Loda, House to the spirits of men, when ghosts vanish like mists on a sunny hill, close your doors!"  she cast as red bolt came from the end of her wand directly at the ring.  "I'm sorry Godric." She whispered as the bolt hit the ring and shattered it, the pieces turning from gold to stone.  The second the bolt hit the ring, the wall sealed up tighter than the day it was built.  As silence swept over, Dory could swear that she heard a few faint sobs from the other side.

"Mom!" 

Dory and Harry looked up to the direction form which the voice came and saw Cesare running towards them.  Dory ran up to him and hugged him tightly and then Cesare gladly hugged his best friend Harry, forgetting about the damned ring that started all of this.  The trio started walking forward slowly, wary of every dark corner.  Just before they came to the end of the chamber, Harry stopped suddenly, pressing his hand against his scar and grimacing in pain.

"He's near, isn't he?" Dory asked him.  Harry nodded but pushed on.

A few steps later they were stopped again by a dark mass on the floor.  Dory pushed the two boys back so she could take a look at it.  She whispered 'lumos' to illuminate the end of her wand and she gasped and stepped back when the light hit the mass; all that was left was a silver hand next to a pile of ash.  "Goodbye Wormtail." Dory whispered as she urged them to move forward.  The chamber never seemed to end though; it seemed to get longer.

"How very cute.  Three little Gryffindor pure hearts all in a row." Voldemort hissed from the darkness, his voice gradually coming closer.  "How very brave of you, locking yourselves in here to face me.  How heroic, or should I say foolish."  Then he appeared before them.  "Damning yourself to a trapped fate.  There is no other way out, at least that you know.  Good night, brave little Gryffindors, may you have a good time in the afterlife." He hissed as he turned to go back into the shadows.

"You will not win this time!" Dory screamed out.  Voldemort heard her scream out and he whipped around quickly, sending a bolt out of the end of his wand, aimed for Dory's heart.  She turned quickly so the bolt only hit her arm, but leaving a bloody wound in it wake as Dory let a blood curdling scream of pain.

"I challenge you to defeat me…" his voice echoed from down the tunnels.  "…if you ever want to get out of here…you must conquer the Labyrinth of Terror."

Harry and Cesare looked at Dory, who was pressing her right hand over her bleeding left arm.  "If he wants a fight, he's going to get it." Dory said in a near growl as she conjured up three brooms.  "Be careful you two.  This labyrinth is dark and filled with dark magic.  It will try to trip you up by feeding off your nightmares, your worst memories, and your deepest fears.  Just follow your heart and you will be fine." She reminded them she mounted the broom and instructed them to do the same and then took off down the tunnel which they heard Voldemort from.

The tunnels were dark and winding, lit only by the occasional torch.  The only way they had an idea of which way to go was which direction made Harry's scar hurt more.  Then the light disappeared and an image replaced it – the destroyed remains of Godric's Hollow and the corpses of Lily and James.  Dory cringed at the sight and rapidly turned her head to not look at it, hoping Harry hadn't seen it.

"Harry, don't look at it." She yelled to him, trying not to scare him.  "Prongs…Lily…if you can hear me, help us out a bit here." She thought to herself as the moved forward at breakneck speeds.

As they moved deeper into the labyrinth and closer to Voldemort, the images got worse.  Remus' dead body, tragedy befalling many of Dory's family, including her children, Sirius being tortured to death, Hogwarts soaked in blood, the eclipsing full moon…death and destruction…so much so that it6 was almost unbearable.

Then they entered another chamber where Voldemort stood waiting for them.  The hopped off the brooms and Dory quickly made them vanish.  Harry noticed the shimmering blue light behind Voldemort and pointed to Cesare and Dory that was the exit.  Now they had to get past him and lock him inside.  Dory kept her gaze locked on Voldemort's eyes as she removed her hood and directed the two teenagers to start making their way to the door.

"You do pretty bloody well against children.  Let's see how you fare against a fully trained witch." Dory spat at him as a violet bolt shot from the end of her wand.

"Stupid little Enigma.  Trying to avenge your friends' deaths?  You'll have to do better than that." He retorted as he reversed her spell onto her.  

Dory quickly ducked out of the way and signaled for the boys to go through the door.

"No!  Mom, you need us!" Cesare retorted as he and Harry refused to leave, seeing Dory clearly struggling.

"Go now…I will be right behind you." She screamed as she turned back to Voldemort when she saw them go through the shimmering blue light.  Fire burned in her eyes as she glared at the Dark Lord.  "Now for you…" she hissed as she started backing towards the portal.  "In each of us, two natures are at war – the good and the evil.  All our lives, the fight goes on between them and one of them must conquer.  In our hands alone lies the power to choose, what we most want to be, we are.  There is a fine line between good and evil…" Dory cast as she held her wand in readiness to attack Voldemort.  "This time, the pure heart and love conquers darkness…you will not harm anyone ever again – Petrificus Totalis!" she screamed.  Voldemort's body was temporarily frozen and Dory jumped through the portal.

She hit the floor of the Slytherin Dungeon hard, temporarily dazing her.  Dory quickly recovered though, remembering that she had to close this door as well to prevent him from ever coming back out.  She transfigured her wand into a dagger and then subsequently slit her right palm open with it, placing the blood over the shrinking portal and beginning the spell she used on the first door.  "Faint light gleam over hearth.  Ghosts of Arden pass through and show your distant forms.  Misty Loda, House to the spirits of men, when ghosts vanish like mists on a sunny hill, close your doors!"   And the wall was restored to simple bricks and mortar as Dory collapsed to the floor, exhausted.

Draco Malfoy had heard the commotion coming from what was their common room and came to investigate.  He saw Professor Lupin lying on the floor with her son, the wolf pup and the damned celebrity Potter next to her.

"Potter!  Wolfie!  What happened…get stuck in a bloody wall?" Malfoy spat out as Harry stood up and went toe to toe with him.

"Stuff it Malfoy!  For your information, Voldemort is stuck in the blasted wall."

Dory was slowly regaining consciousness and heard what Malfoy had said.  She noticed that none of the students had seen Snape enter the room, but she had.  "Severus, you should really teach your students some manners.  I am quite tired of hearing the insults out of Mr. Malfoy's mouth." Dory rasped out from the floor as she pushed herself up, blood soaking her left sleeve of her robe and holding her right hand close to her chest, with her wand still enclosed within her fingers.

Snape noticed the blood on her hand and moved to help his once nemesis into a chair as he handed her a handkerchief to wrap around her bloody hand.  "My lord Domenica, what did you do to yourself?" he exclaimed as he slowly turned her hand to see the self – inflicted wound.

"This is the nicest you have ever been to me, Severus.  Maybe I have misjudged you all these years." Dory whispered as she watched Snape clean the wound in her hand.

"I still haven't forgotten all you and the rest of the Marauders did to me when we were students but I am not below helping out someone I have known for twenty years.  Is there anything I can do for you to help?" Snape said surprisingly kindly.

"Can you get Remus for me?" Dory whispered.  "He is probably making himself sick with worry by now."

Snape nodded and then left the room only to return a few moments later with Remus and Anastasia behind him.  Remus and Anastasia rushed over to Dory, Harry, and Cesare and could not hide their joy that they were safe, hugging them tightly.  This scene was though to be quite sickening by Draco, who was promptly silenced by a look from Snape, who knew that they had every right to be happy.


	6. Peace in Friends

**_Enigma's Love – Part 6 – Peace in Friends_**

****

            After such a harrowing year like the one that had just ended, summer would look like a welcome release.  The end of the fifth year could only come too quickly for Dory, Remus, the twins, and Harry.  All of them were looking forward a relaxing summer with no worries but that was not to be the case.  After Sirius had made his dramatic reappearance, he insisted on spending more time with Remus and Dory and the kids, therefore inviting himself to stay with them during the summer.  Dory thought it would be nice to see him again but not have him wrecking their house but she was outnumbered by three teenagers who seemed duly excited to be spending the summer with the legendary Padfoot.

            When everyone had finally made it back to the house, the three teenagers slowly made their way up to their rooms to put away their school trunks while Sirius subsequently made his way into the living room and "claimed" it as his own.  He threw his bags down on the floor and then flopped down on to the couch and kicked off his boots, stretching out and making himself very comfortable.  Dory and Remus saw this and shook their heads in despair at their friend as they knew for three months; their living room was now 'his' bedroom.

            After a few hours, Harry, Cesare, and Anastasia reemerged dressed in muggle t-shirts and shorts, eager to begin their summer vacation.  Hey quickly took notice living room had been changed.  They noticed the boots flung onto the floor and clothing spread all over and the looks Remus and Dory were giving when Sirius wasn't looking.

            "Made yourself at home already?" Harry said to his godfather in a bit of a shock that he could wreck a place so quickly.

            "Regretfully so." Dory stated bitterly as she walked into the kitchen to see if the house elves knew that there would be more for dinner now.  

The night remained thankfully uneventful since everyone was tired from getting back from Hogwarts.  Everyone went to bed rather early and slept peacefully through the night.  The next morning, Dory was the first to stir in the house.  She awoke when the sunlight came in through the window and hit her bed.  She still had her head on Remus' chest with his arms protectively wrapped around her in sleep.  She slowly pushed herself up and moved Remus' arms as she placed a soft good morning kiss on his lips.  He stirred slightly but rolled over on his stomach and fell back to sleep when Dory got out of bed.  She dressed comfortably as she was planning on spending the day lounging in and around the pool.  She quietly crept downstairs so she didn't wake anyone else up.  No sooner she got within the first landing on the stairs, Dory was greeted with the sound of rather loud snoring.  She took a few more steps down and had to stifle a laugh at the sight she saw.  There was Sirius, sprawled all over the couch with the sheet bunched up and tangled all over him and the source of the snoring.  Dory walked quietly into the living room and straightened out the sheet for Sirius and draped it back over him, suppressing the urge to burst out laughing.  Dory then decided it was best not to wake Sirius up, remembering a very cranky Padfoot when that happened at school, and grabbed her breakfast of a muffin and tea and went out on the deck by the pool before it got too hot.

As the morning went on, Dory was slowly joined by everyone else in the house, first Anastasia, who had early morning habits like her mother, then Remus and Cesare.  As the four Lupins sat and ate quietly, they were secretly placing bets on who would get up first out of the known late sleepers – Harry or Sirius.  All of them pretty much agreed that Harry would be next.  And sure enough they were right, around 10:30; Harry stumbled in running his hands through his sleep messed hair as he shot a dirty look to Sirius' horrendous snoring on the couch.

By noon, the rest of the house had enough of the buzz saw in the living room; they decided to take a somewhat cruel course of action.  Dory and Remus magically slipped the sheet underneath Sirius to begin their course of action.  Once the sheet was in place, the three teenagers took a position on each part of it and on the count of three, flung Sirius to the floor with a very loud thud and a few mumblings that should not be repeated.  

Sirius pried his eyes open to find Remus and Dory standing over him with unwelcome grins on their faces.

"Morning, Padfoot." Remus stated with a smile at his fallen friend.  "Or should I say afternoon." He added as he looked at the clock and noticed that it was nearly noon.

"Do you treat all your houseguests like this?" Sirius growled as he picked himself up off the floor and threw his blankets back on the couch and staggered towards the bathroom.

"No, just the ones that sound like the swallowed a lion when they sleep." Dory called out as she burst into laughter and went back to the patio to catch an owl post.

A few moments later, after Harry, Cesare, and Anastasia had changed into their bathing suits to spend a day in the pool, everyone had come back out on to the patio, curious to see what the letter said.  Remus sat down beside his wife and picked up the envelope that the letter came in and took special notice of the seal on it, Order of Morgana.

"What's that all about?  The High Orders usually don't owl post unless it's important." Remus stated as he pointed to the letter in Dory's hands that had put a look of combined shock, horror, and elation on her face.

"I have been invited to Ireland for the Celestial Festival next month and they have named me at the head of it." Dory said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"That's wonderful.  You have been waiting for that since you graduated from Hogwarts." Remus exclaimed excitedly as he kissed her.  But then he noticed that she was not celebrating the dream that had come true for her.  "What's wrong?"

"I can't go." Dory replied flatly as she placed the letter on the table.  "It's during the full moon next month."

Now Remus knew why Dory was upset, it was because of him and his damned lycanthropy.  Guilt nearly broke his heart that he was keeping his wife from her dream.  He got up from the chair and walked over to Dory, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a loving embrace, his cheek touching hers.  "I want you to go.  I'll be all right." Remus whispered, trying to be reassuring.

Dory shook her head against him as a few tears fell from her eyes.  "I can't leave you.  What if you have a bad month?  What if you get sick or hurt?  I couldn't live with myself if I wasn't here for you." She whispered as she leaned against her loving husband.

Remus backed up a bit so he could look into his wife's eyes and show her how sincere he was being.  "I want you to go.  I will be fine.  I'll take the Wolfsbane potion and lock myself in our bedroom until morning and sleep it off.  I can take care of myself with this and I'll have Sirius just downstairs if I need him as well as Harry, Cesare, and Anastasia."  Remus whispered to her straight from his heart.  "Please, Dory…don't give up your dream because of me." He pleaded with her.  That was what crumbled Dory's defenses and she gave in.  In three weeks, she would be at the head of the Celestial Festival.

As the date of the Festival grew closer, Dory became more and more apprehensive about going, especially on the day she was to leave for Ireland.  It was the day prior to the full moon and she could already see in Remus its effects beginning to take hold.  Remus slept a bit later that morning and when he finally did awake, he was already starting to run a fever and beginning to get a cough.

"I'm not going.  I am staying here with you." Dory stated firmly as she began to open her suitcase and unpack what had been packed for days.

Remus grabbed his wand from the nightstand and pointed it directly at her suitcase, closing it and locking it from the bed.  "We already discussed this adnauseaum.  You're going.  I haven't been taking that Wolfsbane potion, which quite frankly tastes disgusting, for the last week so you can back out now." Remus stated in an irritated tone.  He knew he could handle this and he wasn't going to let her waiver now.

Dory reluctantly gave in, not wanting to get Remus agitated when he wasn't feeling well.  She placed her suitcase just outside the door and walked back to the bed to give her husband a passionate kiss to say goodbye.  "I'll be back in a few days.  Now you and Padfoot better not wreck this house.  I don't want to have to move." She said with a smile and laughter in her voice.

"I can only promise for myself.  Padfoot – I offer no guarantees." Remus replied as he lied back down and checked the cooling charms he placed on the bed.  "Have fun and don't worry about me." He continued as he urged her out the door with one final kiss.  Once Remus heard the door close downstairs, he fell asleep again to feel a bit better.

The next day was far from an improvement.  For a few brief moments the previous night, Sirius had helped Remus put cooling charms around the house so he wouldn't pass out from the combined heat of July and his fever that was becoming dangerously high.  They came in quite useful now.  When Remus awoke in the morning, harsh coughs ripped through his system as he staggered down the stairs.  Sirius had made sure he was up early that day and he was glad he was.  When he took one look at a ghostly pale and feverish Remus, he rushed to the stairs to help his friend to the couch and let him lie down.  When Harry, Cesare, and Anastasia came down, all three, despite seeing this many times before, were a little taken back at how horrid Remus looked.  Anastasia saw her father was beginning to drift back to sleep on the couch but she knew he must be terribly uncomfortable with his fever.  She ran into the kitchen and got a cloth and soaked it in cold water and placed it on his forehead as gently as her mother would have.

"Thank you, Dory." Remus mumbled almost deliriously with his eyes closing.  His conscious mind then came back for a second as he turned his head to face his daughter rather than his wife.  "I'm sorry, Anastasia."

"It's okay, Dad.  Just rest, you'll feel better." She whispered.

"Don't play nurse maid to me, please.  I can take care of myself." Remus pleaded with his daughter and indirectly everyone else who was in the room.  "Go to Hogsmeade for the day, on me.  It would probably be far more fun than sitting with me." He implored, almost begging to send the kids out so they didn't have to see him like that.

Sirius knew exactly what Remus was asking.  He remembered that he never truly liked being fussed over during this time period and he knew there was an edge hiding underneath that calm exterior that Remus did not like to let out and he knew he would not want to lash out at his children or Harry.  As the young trio was grabbing their brooms, Sirius stopped them, pulling out three Quidditch tickets.  "You three can have these.  Consider it a little present.  Don't tell Remus though.  I don't think he would like it much." He whispered quietly so Remus didn't hear.

"No problem." Cesare responded with a smile.  "The last thing we want to do is upset Dad today." He concluded as the trio walked out the door.

Sirius turned back towards the living room to see Remus almost beginning to drift off.  He flopped down in one of the near by chairs and turned on the television.  "Something to keep me occupied today." He thought to himself.

Harry, Cesare, and Anastasia landed in Hogsmeade and were promptly greeted by Hermione and Ron.  Cesare whipped out the quidditch tickets and waved them tauntingly at Ron, showing that there was only three.

"Ron can have mine." Anastasia piped up to stop the torture.  "Hermione and I will spend the day here in Hogsmeade and we'll all meet back here in the evening and go home together, agreed?"

The feeling was unanimous as the three boys went in the direction of the Quidditch match on their brooms and Anastasia and Hermione started around Hogsmeade, seeing what new magical items they could buy to practice with.

In Ireland, Dory was extraordinarily bored.  The festival was saving their energy for that night's full moon coven gathering, so during the day everyone was more or less goofing off.  Some were playing chess or cards, while others were chatting or reading Tarot.  The biggest attraction though was the quidditch match on TV.  Dory noticed Arthur Weasley sitting on one of the couches, engrossed in the match, and she decided to sit down next to him and watch since she was a fan of the sport, remembering her days as a chaser for Gryffindor.  The game was interesting but that was not what caught Dory's attention.  As the crowd was shown, Dory instantly picked out Harry, Ron, and Cesare.  "What are they doing there?" she screamed loudly as she got Arthur's attention and pointed out their children in the stands.

"Ron said he was only going to Hogsmeade, not to a quidditch match." Arthur stated with a hint of anger in his voice at being lied to.

"Now I know Remus wouldn't let them do that." Dory stated and then one name popped into her head.  "But Sirius would." She cursed under her breath as she grabbed some parchment to send a howler to Sirius to voice her fury at this.

Sirius had been flicking channels all afternoon, trying to find something decent to occupy his time.  When he came upon a quidditch game, he stopped and he heard Remus awaken.  Remus moaned softly as he rolled over on the couch to face the TV.  "Finally, something other than sleep." He stated to Sirius as he made himself comfortable again.  Both Moony and Padfoot were thoroughly engrossed in the game and commenting on each player's technique.  After a little while, some crowd shots were shown and Sirius spotted Harry, Cesare, and Ron in the stands.

"Bloody hell, now I'm in for it." He thought to himself as he looked to Remus to see if he was watching.  Sirius noticed one split second that Remus was distracted by a series of coughs and he quickly changed the channel to save his own behind.

"Turn it back, Padfoot.  I was watching that." Remus exclaimed in an annoyed tone.

"Sorry, Moony.  I think I sat on the remote." Sirius lied as he changed it back to the game.  "I am in deep trouble if he saw that." He continued thinking to himself.

Several hours later, the in question quintet came back to the Lupins' house.  As they walked into the house chattering away like a flock of birds, Sirius sat silently on the couch in the dark.  The five teenagers casually strolled into the living room, forgetting what time it was or what day it was until they saw Sirius sitting there with a questionable look on his face.

"Where's Dad?" Cesare spoke up to break the silence.

"He's upstairs already."

"How's he doing?" Anastasia added.

"He was running a fever of nearly 106 when he locked himself in." Sirius stated simply and unemotionally as he looked at Ron and Hermione.  "I think it's about time you tell them or they may be in for a shock in a few hours." He continued.  "And I see my tickets got you good seats on television." He finished and turned to go upstairs to sleep for a few hours before Remus got too bad.

Harry and Cesare cringed when Sirius told them that he had seen them on TV, which also meant that Remus might have as well.

"If were lucky, your Dad was asleep when Sirius saw us." Harry said nervously.

"If not, we blame it on Sirius.  They were his tickets." Cesare replied as he moved to sit down on the couch.

"What did Sirius mean that you should tell us something or we would find out in a few hours anyway?" Hermione asked as she too sat down.

Harry and the twins looked nervously at each other, trying to figure out what to say about Remus and his lycanthropy.  Unspoken nods and gestures signaled that they were all in agreement and Anastasia was the first to speak.

"What we have to tell you does not leave this house.  Promise?"

"Of course, now what can be so dreadful?" Ron answered.

"Our Dad is a werewolf." Cesare stated plainly as if it was commonplace to say this at anytime.

Ron and Hermione's eyes went wide when they heard that their favorite DADA teacher is a bloodthirsty beast at the full moon.  But then, they absorbed what they had just heard and their expression changed to one of understanding. Cesare and Anastasia wondered now why they had waited so long to say something but then it came to them.

"Just don't say anything to him that you know, he's very sensitive about it and doesn't like having it out in the open to too many people." Anastasia added, mindful of her parents' feelings about this subject.  "We should head to bed; it's going to be a long night." She suggested as she urged everyone upstairs.

Remus didn't know what time it was when Sirius helped him back up to the bedroom.  Once inside, he put a locking charm on the door and collapsed in the middle of the room, not even having the energy to make it to his bed.  He slowly took off his clothes, because his aching muscles made it quite difficult to move, and flung them to the floor next to a chair by the bed and laid back down on the floor as the wolf began to take over.  Pain ripped through his body as gray fur began to cover him and his bones began to shift.  His body convulsed uncontrollably as he screamed in agony, which became a chilling howl.  As the wolf consumed his mind, the wolfsbane potion kicked in and sedated the wolf into a deep, nearly unconscious sleep.

Morning was not a welcome sight for Remus.  The sun was beginning to rise and the wolf was regressing, resulting in the wretched pain again.  When the pain subsided, the suns rays were filtering in through the window showing morning's first light.  Remus groaned in pain as his head felt like it was going to explode.  He rolled over so he could attempt to get on his hands and knees.  He knew full well that he was going to throw up in a matter of minutes and it would be better if he was at least in the bathroom.  He fought wave after wave of nausea as he crawled into the bathroom.  The cold tiles felt good on his skin as he crawled towards the toilet.  Once he reached it, he ended up getting violently ill over and over again, making him wish for death even more.

Sirius made sure he was up early again to see how Remus made out.  He slowly climbed the stairs and walked down the hallway to Remus and Dory's bedroom door.  He tried the handle, but remembered Remus had locked it.  He knocked and called out his name but the only answer he received was the sound of someone retching.  Sirius silently cursed to himself as he took out his wand to unlock the door.  He opened it carefully and quickly gazed around the room to find Remus.  He noticed a pair of mesh shorts, like what athletes wear, and underwear on the chair next to the bed and the clothes Remus was wearing the previous day on the floor.  He picked up the clothes and then scanned the room again, noticing that the bed had not been slept in so Sirius assumed that Remus spent the night on the floor.  Sirius turned down the blankets on the bed and then he noticed a pair of bare feet behind the bathroom door that was partially shut.  He walked up to it and found Remus sitting on the floor with his head on the toilet, shivering and sweating.

"Moony, you look like hell.  Why don't you at least get into bed?" Sirius said quietly.

"Go away." Remus growled angrily.  "I can do this myself, Padfoot."

"Of course you can…that's why you're lying naked on the floor." He responded as he threw the clothes at him.

Remus pushed the door closed so he could get dressed.  After a few moments, when he had clothes on and his stomach had settled, he reopened the door and leaned against the door frame.  He could barely keep his eyes open and all he wanted to do was sleep.  Sirius walked over to him and wrapped his arm around Remus' shoulders and guided him to the bed.  Remus crawled into the bed and pulled the sheet up over himself, falling asleep almost instantly.  Sirius closed the blinds for his best friend and quietly exited the room.

When Sirius came downstairs, he found all five of the kids lounging around the pool in their swimsuits, munching on what they proclaimed as breakfast, with the stereo already playing muggle music.  Harry and Anastasia were lounging on a raft in the pool, Hermione in a chair catching some sun, and Cesare and Ron eating at the table.  The music was at a level so they could have fun and hopefully not wake Remus.  Everything was going fine, swimming, goofing off, general merriment until Sirius saw an owl carrying a red envelope fly into Remus' bedroom window.  "Oh damn…" he thought to himself.

Remus had been soundly sleeping, despite the muffled music coming from outside.  He had been in such deep sleep that he never even heard the owl fly in the window.  He never would have known it was there until it nipped him on the finger.  Remus moaned and rolled over to avoid the offending bird but with no success, the owl nipped him again.  Remus groaned in agony as he opened his eyes to see the owl.  He rolled over and saw the red letter attached to it leg and knew exactly what it was, a howler.  He untied the note and thanked the bird as it flew back out the window.  Remus rubbed his eyes sleepily, trying to focus his eyes so he could read the address to see who it was from.  He looked at the return address and saw Dory's name at the top of the envelope and it was addressed to Sirius.

"Why would Dory be writing to Sirius?" he thought to himself.

Now came the difficult task of giving Sirius the letter.  Remus was exhausted, sick, and extremely weak.  He didn't even want to get out of bed, much rather go downstairs and outside to give this to him, but he forced himself.  Remus pushed himself up into a sitting position and swung his legs over the side of the bed.  He then slowly pushed himself up, leaning on the chair to keep himself upright.  Once he felt stable enough to try walking, Remus moved very slowly across the room to the door, every step agonizing and tentative.  Once he left the safe confines of his bedroom, he leaned against the wall all the way down the stairs.  Exhaustion was again setting in when he reached the bottom of the stairs but the only thing that kept him going was the thought of returning to his soft bed.  He went to the sliding door and leaned up against the door frame, squinting at the bright sunlight.

"Padfoot?" Remus started to get his attention.  "Why would my wife be sending you a howler?"

Sirius was a bit surprised that Remus would come all the way downstairs with how horrid he felt (and looked) to talk to him about the letter.  He'd just assumed that a scream would have been sent out the window.

"Moony, you should really get back in bed.  You look like you're going to fall over." Sirius stated, trying to change the subject.

"Nice try, Padfoot.  Now, I want you to explain what all of this is about." Remus said with anger building in his voice.  "I really don't feel well, Sirius, and I want to go back to bed.  So just come in here and tell me what happened." He finished as he turned back into the house and sat down on the couch to wait for him.

Now Sirius was stuck.  He knew all too well that Remus did have a bad temper hiding underneath that calm surface and if he pushed him, it would get ugly.  He slowly got off the patio chair, faintly hearing the calls of the young quintet saying he was in for it, and walked in to the house and found his summoner.  He silently walked into the living room where he heard the harsh coughs coming from.  He thought Remus looked worse now than when he had found him that morning.  He watched Remus barely be able to keep his eyes open as he sat on the couch waiting for him with the Howler on the table in front of him.  He knew Remus was bloody well waiting for him to open the aforementioned cursed thing so he did just to get the torture over with.

"Padfoot what in the seven levels of hell were you thinking?!!!  I turn on a TV here and I see my son, Harry, and Ron at a quidditch match by themselves.  Let's just say Arthur Weasley is none too thrilled as well.  I didn't think a man such as he could turn that shade of red when he got angry.  And where were Anastasia and Hermione?  Those five are usually never separated.  Damn – this just doesn't have the same effect.  I will deal with you when I get back." Dory's voice echoed from the letter.

Sirius turned to Remus and he could swear that he saw his anger about to explode.  "I can explain…" he stammered, trying to ward off an attack.

"Why the hell were they at a quidditch match when I said they could only go to Hogsmeade?" Remus screamed.

"I thought the boys would have fun so I gave them my tickets.  They are almost 16, Moony…"

"I am highly aware of that but still they are only 16 and it is not exactly safe for Harry on occasion if you haven't forgotten Voldemort."

"He's stuck in a wall." Sirius stated in his own defense but he saw Remus getting beyond agitated.

"I'm not dealing with this now.  I am going back to sleep.  You can deal with Dory on your own when she comes back tonight." Remus finished as he pushed himself off the couch and slowly made his way back up to the comfortable confines of his bedroom, leaving Sirius to wallow in his own impending fear.

Hours later, Dory walked back into her house to an unwelcome sight.  The house looked like it had been through a war with all the junk food and butterbeer bottles all over.  Maybe not a war zone, but a herd of teenagers.  She walked further in to find Cesare sound asleep in one of the chairs, Harry in the other, and Ron on the floor.  Then she found her intended target flaked out on the couch, Sirius.  She whipped out her wand and mumbled a quick 'enervate' and he bolted up right in shock.

"You know I hate that, Dory." He replied in a disgusted tone.

"I really don't care right now.  Consider this part of your punishment – helping me clean up this mess." Dory stated firmly.

Some time later, and several cleaning charms, the house was back in order.  That's when Sirius got the nerve to bring up something he had always wondered about.  "Dory, I want to ask you something that I have been wondering about for twenty years.  How did you know so much about werewolves before Remus?"

"My family had dealings with them." Dory said very nondescriptively, having heard this question before.

"In what way?"

Now she couldn't avoid it.  She dreaded this day for a very long time.  "My brother, Stephen, was a werewolf but he wasn't as lucky as Remus is." She said sadly.

Sirius never thought that her knowledge had come from first hand experience.  But one thing caught his attention.  "What do you mean 'was'?"

"My brother was bitten when he was very young, like Remus, but his transformations were a lot harder.  You know how Remus is usually up again after a day or two, my brother was out of commission for usually a week and a half, so he could never go to school.  Well, when he turned thirteen, his transformations became more violent.  One night, just a few months before I came to Hogwarts, there was a lunar eclipse.  This is the reason why I freaked out when Snape and Malfoy played that prank on me and then I slammed James into the wall."

"How could I forget that?" Sirius interjected, remembering that fateful night.

"Anyway, that night he transformed but it was so violent that his heart exploded in the middle of it, leaving him stuck half way between human and wolf.  His hands were curled up since they were beginning to change into paws, his snout was coming in.  It was truly frightening.  My parents had to transfigure him back to human form before his funeral; there was no way they were going to bury their son looking like that.  After that day, Stephen was never brought up too much."

Sirius felt such sympathy for her.  He had never known that she had to suffer so much as a child.  "Does Remus know?"

Dory nodded.  "He met Stephen once.  My mother tells me that once when I was five, Remus' parents brought him over when they came to meet my parents.  There weren't too many families with lycanthropic children and they wanted to know how my parents coped.  Well, it was a few days after a moon and Remus was still quite sick from the transformation.  My mother said that he was curled up in his mother's arms, almost asleep, until I came in the room and his face lit up with the biggest smile.  She says we played together until we both fell asleep, but then we didn't get to see each other again until we got to Hogwarts because he moved."

Sirius said nothing else about it, seeing how painful it was to tell.  Dory hid her feelings well and even with that, Sirius could see the pain behind her eyes.

A few days later, when Remus was up and around again, the mood was far more jovial.  Everyone was hanging out around the pool, relaxing, when Sirius and Remus started plotting.  As Dory walked by the two marauders, Remus found it quite amusing to take his wand out and magically shove Dory into the pool.  She fell in with a big splash and reemerged with a look of vengeance on her face.

"Remus Joseph Lupin, I'm going to get you for that one." She threatened as she lifted her hands out of the water.  "Accio Remus!"  She picked him right out of the chair and dropped him right in the pool in front of her.  He popped up and gave her a wet kiss and then dunked her under.

The quintet of teenagers were laughing hysterically, watching grown adults act younger than them.  But Sirius' laughing howls caught their attention.

"You think this is funny, Padfoot?" Dory stated and then looked to Remus and nodded.  "Accio Sirius!" she cried and repeated the same act that she did to her husband.  

Laughter filled the yard now that everyone was soaked.  Life was seemingly all well…for now.


End file.
